


Riko Slyver Book One - A Stone

by lupin5th



Series: The Untouchables: School Years [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Gen, Harry is still Harry, Ron is still Ron, a few other students start in 91 as well, also: Slytherin does not equal Evil, if you keep in mind the books are Harrys point of view and thus a subjective view, most people are Id say, nor is any other house Evil, only not exactly - OC viewpoints and all that, people being people - this is usually how things happen, so the focus is not Voldy and his opposition, sort of canon-compliant up to the end of book 3, subjectivity is a thing to be aware of, yes - this is written from a subjective view as well, yes this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-04-23 20:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 197,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4890433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupin5th/pseuds/lupin5th
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if: In the year 1991 four girls meet on the train to Hogwarts. Things happen. (not much differently, at first, but point-of-views differ, and sometimes that is all it takes)<br/>Riko Slyver is not at home in Wizarding Britain, in Britain, or maybe anywhere at all. That’s alright, though, she’s going to become a master thief anyway. She’s had teachers and training before, but going to a school is new. It <i>is</i> part of her plan, though, and making friends is what school is for, isn’t it, at least as much as for learning. Finding adventures isn’t usually what school is for, but it is what <i>life</i> is for, so - up and at it!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Girl Lives

**Author's Note:**

> Being my personal headcanon (in the sense of: wouldn’t it be cool if..) this story assimilated some things from writers that impressed me over quite a damn while. Those people are obviously credited and I also asked them, because that is just polite. I will point out relevant parts in the respective chapters, but in general I want to give credit in alphabetical order to:
> 
> copperbadge, whose Stealing Harry and Cartographer's Craft had pieces assimilated, never mind how brilliant all the rest of his works is.  
> guernica, whose Knight Errant Chronicles integrated the fae/faeries into the Potterverse in a way that’s just lovely and well-thought-out. Her decription of their customs, magic, etc is what I integrated here. Most relevant to mention is the spell Obscurantis, which is used throughout and of her design.  
> potionpen is a brilliant builder of actual characters and source of excellent worldbuilding. Our views on the principle of subjectivity and how things make sense overlap so much I couldn't not mention it. Any cases of direct influence shall be noted.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not the year 1981, nor are infants left at doorsteps. But bad things may happen at any time or place, and need taking-care of in some way or other. The year is 1987 and the weather has been nice, so far.

The residents of the village Kitsunenomorinomura in the Tohoku region of Japan were by and large realist and down to earth. It comes with living in the most rural edges of Japan, and didn’t mean they didn’t believe in magic or myths. It simply meant they didn’t have to talk about it. The world was as it was, and they knew how to get by in it.

What the rare visitors from larger towns or cities saw as quaint traditions and hokey superstitions, everyone here knew to work. If you came from a funeral you threw salt over your shoulder before entering your home. If you put small containers with cooked rice by your fields the harvest was good. If you saw a crow you shouldn’t look it in the eye, but still be courteous and obliging if it made demands of you. And if you saw a fox it was good luck, especially if you treated it well. There was simply no need to talk about any of this.

The township wasn’t growing, but it didn’t shrink below the size it needed to survive either. The school was small but covered all grades required before going to the high school in the next small town via bus. Sure, often young people moved to the big cities; but usually they came back, and those who didn’t were made up for by newcomers from other, similar villages, or the occasional dropout of the ever-faster-moving, modern society.

They were admittedly lacking many things normal people would expect. There weren’t many television-sets in the village, but the reception wasn’t very good anyway. In winter or during heavy weather there was still a good chance of the power or phone lines being interrupted. A number of houses didn’t actually have running water, and the one road to the next town was often dangerous to use, on account of weather damages or similar.

Nevertheless, life was good. The seasons were felt more keenly, but the joy they brought was more pronounced as well. The area sported some pleasant hot springs, even if they weren´t enough to draw many people up here. The people got on well enough with their neighbours in a relaxed live-and-let-live fashion, and knew they had little reason to fear the elements, nor things that went bump in the night. For if there ever should turn up some nefarious otherworldly beast, if there was ever a kami that felt slighted and vengeful, or if ever there might be an angry mortal spirit bent on mischief, they knew where to get help.

In fact, the relatively close proximity to the once-deserted Inazuma Shrine was known to afford protection against most such troubles all by itself. It had been a few generations back, when rumour had grown someone was living there again. A warrior-miko and mahoutsuki, young to the untrained eye, tall and striking in appearance but her hair as white as snow, unruly and wild as her spirit. Her skin was darkened by the weather of many travels or maybe, from her features, some common ancestry, despite the colour of her eyes: the blue of a clear summer sky, looking sharply through slitted irises, as of a cat.

Occasionally she came by to drink at either of the two inns, always paying well even if the coins varied (hardly ever normal but worth enough just by their weight and the value of the metal). There had been instances, now a long time back, when she’d had to prove herself against such manner of problems, before their very eyes even. By now, however, the area was known to be under her protection, so that even when she left on one of her journeys, the things that would otherwise prey on unwary humans kept their distance.

It wasn’t something you had to talk about. After all, the way to the shrine was measured in the way the crow flies, no decent way or even trail marked for one going by foot. Not that anyone would’ve thought it a good idea to spontaneously visit this odd neighbour. Despite the beneficial effects she’d brought and her easy-going (if somewhat brash) manner, she was clearly a step removed from normal folk like them and, although neither haughty nor ever imperious, well aware of the fact.

Then, perhaps a dozen years back now, she had brought a companion that stayed. Before, though she sometimes brought guests with her on the infrequent visits to the village, they hardly ever saw them more than once, and from their looks and her rough manner it was obvious they were either friends or even relatives. But this one, a gaijin of equal hight as Kazeko-san, with unruly black hair and stormy grey eyes, was clearly her companion.

Well, he’d started out a friend, as Maiko, innkeep of the Dancing Flute, could tell you. Old Keiji had been in to celebrate his second daughter’s graduation, when the two of them showed up and joined in. Her manner had been good-natured if a little abrupt, as usual, and the stranger had conducted himself well enough for a gaijin, well-spoken and with sufficient manners to not make a fool of himself. He had an infectious grin, his eyes (for all their odd colour shaped normal enough, letting one assume shared ancestry) speaking of good-natured mischief and laughter, and though he had arrived as a stranger he left on friendly terms.

When they’d come in some months later, they’d been acting just like Makoto and Naoki last spring, and hadn’t that been a sight. Ancient Goro had lost it after a few cups and howled with laughter while ribbing them about it as only an ancient, drunk fool would. They’d taken it well enough, joining the laughter and fun at their own expense and spending a pleasant evening that ended only when the sun came up, and Kazeko-san had to drag her friendly gaijin off into the morning’s mist and twilight. He’d held himself up well enough, compared to the other guest, but even so he was a mortal man.

When next they came in, no more than a few months later, they were quite obviously more than friends, and wasn’t it the cutest thing, the way they managed to dote upon the other while still acting remotely civilized.

Goro was acting as proud as if he’d introduced, convinced, and wed them all on his own, blessing them (purely religiously, of course) with sake with remarkable diligence. They didn’t argue it, instead paying for his every drink, and when he passed away some years later, soon after the third birthday of their child, they attended the funeral and Kazeko-san blessed his grave herself with Maiko’s best sake.

Not much changed after that. Though now they were three instead of two, they still came into the village rather infrequently, and made long journeys as often as before. The girl was usually with them when they visited in town, and as good as she was at finding mischief, even as a crawling little babe, she was as good at getting out of it too. It might have had something with the luck of small children and fools, or maybe it was because the local kami looked out for her on account of her mother.

Time went by and everyone was secretly glad they didn’t have to talk about her going to their school. Maiko had asked when they visited for the Shichi-Go-San festival after Riko turned five, and Kazeko-sama had smiled widely and said they were away on travels too often and it really wouldn’t be fair to anyone. They adored and respected their adopted miko even more for that.

It wasn’t just because the kid was forever hatching pranks and tricks. Though she looked very much like her mother she had her father’s pleasant nature, and they liked her well enough. And she had after all even been born in their village. Ameko-san had acted as midwife, while the worst thunderstorm even Ancient Goro could recall announced the start of September. No one had been surprised when they’d named her Raiko or, more officially, Kaminariko, lightning child, after that.

So, no, It wasn’t that they would’ve disliked it, Riko going to their school. But they were well aware they were not really neighbours, their lives very much not the same, and that there was simply too much that set the villagers apart from their honoured guardian and her family.

It was in the year Riko would turn seven that the comfortable routine was shattered.

The summer had been good so far, with hardly any storms and what rain had been required had fallen in the nights, making sleep easy. Everyone was looking forward to the tanabata summer festival around the seventh of July. What little fireworks they had were set off on the seventh, but the small festival with it’s carts of games and food and seasonal gifts lasted for a few days before and after that.

But on the seventh there was just something oppressive about the air. The skies insisted on being overcast, yet there was no wind at all. By evening, the mounting clouds had turned a foreboding shade of purple, and everyone was relieved when the fireworks were done, hurrying to their homes in anticipation of the coming storm. It broke late, not long past midnight, and in the morning the air was clear enough to feel fresh, though still charged.

When the festival ended without Kazeko-sama and her family showing up as usual, people started talking about odd noises and lights they had noticed from the direction of the Crow Shrine during the night of that storm. A few days later a group of young women and men went to the shrine on a dare. When they came back they went straight to the Dancing Flute, silent and pale the lot of them.

The small peak on it had inhabited was lowered by half; it’s top, where once the shrine complex had stood with woods and small stream, had been transformed into uneven glass, as if a terrible heat had wrought utter destruction there.

The entire village was in shock, for a while.

But not much else changed, really. The area was still avoided by most all supernatural predators. Though there were more problems of the weird kind, they usually weren’t as bad.

Well, ‘as bad’ was soon associated with whatever had happened to the Shrine, but still, humans are built to survive and endure. Life continued, close enough to normal, and the world moved on. And the villagers had one more thing they didn’t need to talk about: why each tanabata a small group of people went to the newly named glass crow mountain, to leave offerings of sake and incense.

*

Of course there were people for whom the effects of that night were far more immediate, and hit much closer to home, even if they were locally farther removed. One of them was Kal Su, known to some as tennou of the kami of winter, cold, and wind, or simply as high wizard of the north, with a fitting penchant for the realm of water, and cold and sinister spells.

He arrived on the evening following the strange events, invited by his niece Kazeko to celebrate tanabata with them before Riko reached her seventh year. Stepping out of the fold-way he furrowed his brow at the desolate surroundings. He recognized the spell that had led to the final destruction around him, and knew he needn’t search for any crows or kami to ask what exactly had happened. They had either been destroyed or escaped early enough to be far far away by now.

Sharpening his senses, he sought the most recent use of magic in the vicinity - not an easy task, given the background radiation of unleashed energy. At last he could trace a small, vague thread that veered off into the air. A flight spell, inexpertly cast to be still readable at all.

Murmuring his own variation, with far less excess energy and thus a little slower but easier to control, he stepped into the air, following the fickle link. It had rained heavily last night, he now realized, and though the spell had been cast close to dawn it was difficult to follow.

When he was certain it led to a village he had visited before, he conjured an arcane shield of invisibility and proceeded cautiously. Above the town proper the trail became erratic, and after some searching Kal Su concluded whoever had cast the flight spell had crashed into a patch of bamboo growing behind what looked to be an inn. Descending to the ground, he traced faint remains of the caster’s energy signature under the platform of the inn. Whoever it was must have been quite beside themselves, trailing so much energy without actually casting anything. He already had an unpleasant suspicion, finding it proven true when he looked under the wooden porch.

His grandniece was huddled in a tight ball, lying on her side: alive but obviously unconscious. With a sigh he straightened and made his way into the festival-street.

Recalling memories of his earliest years, when Schneider had taken him in, he looked around until he spotted some suitable carts. He garnered a few curious and suspicious stares as he bought two dishes of eel soup and okonomiyaki, and on impulse a couple of yakitori, but his dark mood had turned his manner imperious and the residents recognized they were outclassed.

Though his build was slight and he stood a bit shorter than his niece, only an utter fool would have thought him less formidable. The cut of his eyes slightly resembled that of the locals, but his colouring marked him obviously foreign, pale and blonde, the icy blue of his gaze calling to mind glaciers and frozen lakes.

With a few commanding gestures he summoned some small air kami to carry the food, appropriated a jug of cold mugicha and two bowls, then recast his invisibility shield and returned to the girl. Judging from her trace and what he had seen at the battle site, she had overextended herself and would need nourishment if not outright healing. Casting spells of hiding, distraction, and discouragement on the yard and it’s vicinity was a necessary precaution, he didn’t want to be interrupted after all.

Kal Su was not generally fond of anything that might be called undignified, but he was also aware of it when a situation warranted it. He removed his cloak and outer robe before lying on his stomach on the damp ground, not scooting below the porch’s platform but choosing the point closest to her. She was only a few feet in, and as he studied her more closely he had to reign in his temper, though as usual nothing showed on his face.

She had cast a rudimentary spell of hiding and he whisked it away, both to examine her more easily and because it was steadily draining her energy, being as haphazardly cast as the flying spell. Sending a tendril of power and thought towards her, he found no dangerous injuries, but she was in a bad state.

Somehow she still had remains of the Harroween’s energies clinging to her, the implication that she might have cast it turning Kal’s blood to ice. She was far too young to handle, much less control, such destructive power! While it would explain many of his findings so far, it would also raise more questions. With an effort he put the queries to the side for now, he had to take care of the child first.

Pushing a measure of healing energies towards her, he gently nudged her mind towards awareness. Putting his head on his hands he looked calmly at her as she woke, thereby keeping his hands visible and harmlessly occupied. She knew him, but still, she’d likely be distraught, and he wanted to put her at ease and make it easier for her to accept his help.

She did indeed flinch when she opened her eyes to find herself watched, but didn’t move away. Instead, she regarded him with a shuttered, guarded look, one that reminded him painfully of himself as a child. He nodded at her after a few breaths of silence, then slowly moved to sit on the edge of the porch, so she could see his location by his feet.

When she crawled out after a few moments, he saw in the better light that her skin had a greyish pallor and she was shivering, her clothes still damp from last night’s rain. Casting a small spell of warmth on his discarded outer robe, he handed it to her, glad when she accepted, wrapping it closely around herself before sitting.

“You should eat something,” he gestured to the food, and with a careful movement slid one of the soup bowls in front of her, taking the second for himself.

He didn’t consider himself any kind of expert in dealing with children, especially if they were upset, but he was here now, and usually being calm was a good first step. Besides, she was obviously on the verge of being spell-sick, having channelled too much power last night, and needed to refuel, quickly.

She blinked and he could see her hands trembling lightly, but she took the bowl and started eating slowly. A relief, especially when she picked up speed, taking the offered okonomiyaki and not minding that he left all the yakitori to her. He had poured them both mugicha and though he liked the nutty flavour of the roasted barley tea, he drunk little, taking care to continually top her bowl. In the state she was in she needed to drink enough, and he was sure she hadn’t until now.

When the food and drink were gone she wrapped the robe tighter and hid her hands in the folds, huddling in a cross-legged seat and regarding him again with shuttered eyes. She hadn’t spoken a word yet, and he worried she might have actually cast the dangerous destructive spell, and now suffer any number of damages from it.

But even so, he didn’t want to disturb her with questions. Demanding answers from what he remembered from himself to resemble nothing so much as a hurt animal was not a kind or a wise thing to do. Better to let her speak in her own time, it had worked both with Ashes and himself, when Schneider had taken them in.

On the other hand, there were some things that might go a long way in helping her reach a more relaxed state of mind. Her colour was improving already, and though it was hard to tell under the layers, he hoped she wasn’t shivering as much now.

“You are safe now,” he stated calmly.

She gazed at him sharply for a moment, reminding him for a split second so strongly of Dark Schneider he had to blink. Then she took a deep, shaky breath and closed her eyes for a few heartbeats. When she opened them again, her gaze was clear and hard, and he resigned himself to not comparing her eyes to her mother’s again any time soon.

His niece could be serious and callous, dangerous and hard, when situations warranted it, but the way Kaminariko looked at him now was too close to her core. Kazeko had ever been a happy child, though of course with a temper fitting for her parents. She would never gaze at the world as her daughter did now.

“The rebirth spell is still active,” she said, more a demand than a question, the tense lines of her face at odds with her chill voice.

It answered the question what had become of Kazeko and Jack and he felt a stab of pain and sadness. He had loved his niece, oddly enough more easily than his adopted sister, and her husband had become a good friend, a rare development for Kal Su. It had taken him a while, having seen at first only the fun-loving, easygoing side the man liked to entertain his surroundings with.

But Jack had a core of cold steel and leashed fire, as had been demonstrated when Kazeko had introduced the father of her child to Dark Schneider. The man was no stranger to volatile family situations, perceptive enough to judge the players correctly and he had the guts and self control to position himself accordingly. He also hid a silent curiosity and a keen mind for knowledge and puzzles that Kal had appreciated much when he found it.

“Yes, it is.” Not wanting to start the child into an emotional breakdown, Kal Su’s face showed nothing of his inner thoughts, and his voice was calm and cool. “Your mother extended her own to your father, though, so it might take a while until they become themselves again.”

Making no movement, his grandniece kept to her tone. “How long?”

“Among other things it will depend on the circumstances of last night,” he sighed and eyed her worriedly, already starting to wonder who might be best suited to take care of her until then, “it could be anything from one to twenty years.”

She huddled even more into herself, and Kal Su recognized her need to talk about the events warring with the desperate desire to keep it all away from herself. Likely she’d be extremely tired as well, her body demanding rest now that it had received nourishment, to replenish her depleted reserves.

“Give me your hand for a moment,” he held out his left, palm up. After a moment’s hesitation she placed her small one in his, also palm up.

Conjuring a small ball of pure restorative energy, no bigger than a plume, he let it float between them for a moment before placing it in her hand. It dissolved in her palm when she closed her fingers around it, granting her the effect of a good nights rest in the process. In her current state it wouldn’t hold up long, but it would suffice for a talk.

He let go of her hand and reached for his cloak while changing his seat. Instead of across each other they would sit side by side now, looking from the porch into the yard, with it’s calm pond and decorative sprouts of bamboo. He knew from experience how even the implied division that came from sitting on opposite sides could be daunting in such a situation.

“...thanks,” Riko mumbled after a short pause, in which he had offered her the cloak as an additional blanket by putting it beside himself. She scooted beside him and he helped settle the additional layers of fabric around her, tugging it up around her neck and brushing her hair from her eyes.

Then he settled his hands in his lap and looked out into the yard, only occasionally glancing sideways through his lashes at her. She leaned against him for a moment and sighed, then he felt her straighten away from his side.

“It... it was Da’s ..lot and .. a bunch of other ..people and ..things..”

It was an effort to remain still, to give no outward reaction to that. He had a sudden flash of understanding of what Schneider had possibly been feeling.. occasionally, or perhaps, if he remembered more closely, quite often, when he or Ashes, or in some cases Yoko or Kazeko, had been in the situation to tell him of things done against them.

The white-hot shards of rage, the electric need to utterly destroy whoever had dared harm those he cherished, that were his. He recalled the way Schneider had always become so still, so very unlike his usual self, and belatedly his respect for the man increased.

His lack of reaction seemed to draw her out further and he had to restrain himself from gathering her close. He knew from experience that it was easier to tell it all, first and on your own, before being held. Schneider had known as well, making Kal wonder again at his perceptiveness when the man was usually acting so brash.

“..they ..I ..when I woke, Ma ’nd Da already had a shield around us. The shrine was in shambles – there was fire everywhere and so many of them..” her voice faltered.

Glancing at her sideways he saw flickers of fear, then rage and hate flit over her young face before she drew a shuddering breath and closed herself off again. So very much like Schneider, down to the quiver of her destructive emotions palpable in the air around her. He suppressed a shudder.

“His.. his father was there, and he told him that he’d known for a while, about us.. said that he’d shamed them all by being a blood traitor, but that he didn’t need him any more, didn’t have to hope for him to come to his senses. He had a new heir, he said, and.. and the woman beside him was even younger’n Da and you couldn’t even see it yet, but he was bragging about how they’d checked it already..” her voice had become increasingly low, she was close to whispering, but, oh, the disgust and hate in it was unsettling.

Shaking her head she took another deep breath, and her voice was cold and clear when she continued, “Told Da he’d just kill him, and us, to spare the family the shame of having to legally disown him. I think they were rather surprised when Da levelled a Venom straight at their group. Got them all, too. The rest.. well..” she sighed and he saw she’d closed her eyes.

“It was me, you know. Da had the defensive pretty well in hand, leaving the heavy artillery to Ma, but they had to make sure I was alright. They couldn’t move about as well, and there was just too many of them. I just wasn’t any help at all. When.. I hadn’t even seen, but, Da was down and Ma, she.. she put her hand on my shoulder, and she..”

The girl shook her head, fixing her eyes on the ground beside the porch. After a moment’s pause she continued, her voice both removed and silent, “..she’d been hurt pretty bad, and she was _so_ mad, but she just smiled at me and said ‘you’ll be safe’ and then things went ..strange. It was like she was wrapped around me, and I couldn’t see quite right. And then she made it all go away.”

The girl shivered, and Kal Su eyed his grandniece worriedly. She wasn’t crying, her face a frozen mask of thought, eyes half closed as she pondered and prodded the painful memories.

“I felt her leave,” she had huddled further into the fabric, drawing up her knees and hugging them to her chest. “She went to make sure Da is ok. She couldn’t cast and protect us at the same time, so she made sure I’d be safe by casting it through me.. I don’t ...I don’t think she thought it would take long until they’re back.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, she looked up at him, the need to know obvious in her eyes. “How long do you think it’ll be?”

He thought, regarding her thoughtfully. There was a familiar aura of self-recrimination in her story and at work in her look, in her tone. It wouldn’t do. As he had likely no survivors of last nights attack to take his revenge on, though he would make very sure of this, very soon, it was the least he could do, to stop her from taking this path. He had trod it long enough, still fell into it at times, and it was even more misplaced here than it had been when he was a child.

Reminding himself to choose his next words carefully, he gave some though to her question. Kazeko hadn’t been in her own body at the time. Jack’s spirit had likely some bad effects from the utter destruction of the Harroween to overcome. Even if he’d been dead already when it was cast, he couldn’t have lost all ties to his body. And their bodies had been utterly annihilated, their very structure and essence burned from reality

“Well, the circumstances could be better. Still, I’d say no more than fifteen years at the most, either for them to find back through rebirth and emerge immediately, or, if they are born earlier, until their personas are able to give a sufficient base to their talents and powers.”

He saw her take the hit these news brought her, though his gaze was carefully neutral. His respect for the child increased immensely when her only reaction was a moment of widened eyes, a short blink, but her face stayed impassive. He wanted to avoid her worrying about these years to come, but even more he needed to make something clear to her.

Putting his right hand on her shoulder he turned her, moving so they sat face to face again. Placing a finger under her jaw, so that she’d know to look him in the eye, he leaned down. They were level now, and his voice was grave when he spoke, calmly but with an intensity that would have surprised many who knew him.

“Now, take note of what I say, and never forget or doubt it. What happened last night was in no way your fault. Both of your parents have great talent in collecting enemies. That one of them had the smarts and means to draw others to his cause is simply bad luck. If Kazeko decided to use a Harroween to rid them all from this world, then the same events would have happened with or without you there.”

Seeing the hesitancy in her gaze, the mix of fear and desire to believe his words, he continued, placing both hands on her shoulders, now that she was looking straight at him.

“I would not lie to you and you know as well as I do that it is true.” He nodded solemnly when he spied acceptance of this in her eyes, pleased to change to other matters, that were easier to assure her of, “now, I will of course make sure to find out the details of their return. But until then, be assured you will be safe and taken care of.”

He calculated the variables and off-sets of inter-dimensional portals, shifts, and folds as he continued, “I would naturally be glad of your company, but if you’d rather stay with Ashes and Gara, or Schneider and Yoko, it will be only a small effort to..”

“No, uncle.” Her quiet voice and the decided way she gave only one slow shake of her head derailed him utterly. Her tone was calm but he recognized the steel behind it, so much like her grandfather that it made his neck prickle.

“I know you wouldn’t lie to me, and that what you say is true. But I also know that I was a terrible hindrance to them.” The resolute way she set her jaw underscored the impression of Dark Schneider all the better. “I will not be such a hindrance again. Ever.”

The nonchalant shrug she managed even through the layers of fabric under his hands was just as jarring, especially with the classic colouring of D.S..

“I love you dearly, Uncle Kal, just as Ashes and Gara and Darshu and Yoko,” she said, “But if I am really to learn how to take care of myself, it will not be with either of you. You know that as well as I do.”

The wording, the small lift of one eyebrow, the stab of levity in this situation that should by rights have allowed for none at all, and Kal Su resigned himself to a changed world. He loved the other two white-haired, insane members of his weird family without reservation, but he had hoped his grandniece would take a while longer to live up to that special character trait.

With a sigh he closed his eyes for a moment, lowering his brow to hers. Then he straightened with his usual mask of cool and calm in place, though a slight smile tugged at his lips.

At times like this he couldn’t help but believe that there was really no ill in all the worlds that couldn’t be solved by the sort of thinking Dark Schneider and his line seemed to have in their blood. Well, by that and their exceptional talents. Though he loathed the circumstances he was proud of his grandniece, already thinking of where best to place her for her demanded learning.

*

Barely a week later he stepped back into his keep, reasonably satisfied. He had visited an old friend of Gara’s and been relieved the mortal was still alive and quite well, despite her increased age. It was always disconcerting, how time on another plane seemed to move so fast. Or perhaps it wasn’t just the planar distance.

He supposed that, given their resistance to times ever gnawing tooth, he and his closest family sometimes just sort of forgot about time passing. The thing that reminded them was all too often when they would go to visit an old friend or comrade, only to find they had passed away or died otherwise.

In this case, his relief had an additional reason: he had hoped Shizuka would take in and train his grandniece. The kunoichi had settled in that dimension primarily because it was so rare to find any actual ninja, or even any kind of truly extraordinary fighters or mages, there. At the time she had been intent on hiding her continued existence after what Kal Su had heard her refer to as “the successful conclusion of a rather painful, but sufficiently high-gain job”.

Gara and Kal Su had spent many a night drinking with her, both there and in a few other dimensions and planes she’d agreed to visit after a while and some careful scouting. Only one island removed from the now-destroyed Inazuma mountain she had appropriated an old shrine, made it her home, and after a while taken to training people she considered fun in the ninja arts, simply to keep herself busy and entertained.

When she was into her cups she often rambled that her students didn’t have enough focus nor energy to actually take a bite with the teeth she thought them, so he had felt fairly confident she wouldn’t turn down a chance to train a progeny of Dark Schneider.

And he’d been right. Riko and Shizuka seemed to have a good connection at first sigh, and the kunoichi had even agreed to accept the other little girl as her apprentice as well. Kal Su had to shake his head at the memory.

While travelling to the Shrine, Riko had often moved at some distance to him, checking out their surroundings instead of just trailing him. When she came back from one of those expeditions with a scruffy little girl trailing behind her, he had been quite surprised and prepared himself to send the child home to its parents.

Instead his grandniece had informed him her new friend didn’t have any parents, didn’t have a home, and hadn’t even had a name, and since she had named her she was now taking her along to train being an awesome ninja. It had given him pause.

As he’d looked more closely at the stray he’d noted her shy demeanour, the signs of malnourishment, her entire shabby appearance, and then her unusual colouring. As if she felt his gaze as he scrutinized her with his usual neutral expression, she’d looked up and shot him a curious glance from yellow cats’ eyes, then looked hastily down again. Her hair wasn’t black, as he had thought, but rather a very dark green, and her skin was the same colour as Ashes’..!

He’d blinked at the odd thought, even though it was correct. Then he’d realized she’d reminded him in her posture and actions so far of the rare cases when a young Ashes had reverted into the habits she had formed as an outcast of her people. He’d blinked again, concentrating his thoughts back to the here and now, when she looked up again, taking a step forward to stand beside Riko instead of behind her.

“I’m Cheshire. And I’ll follow Riko.”

She’d tensed up and looked sideways as soon as she had finished talking, and it was clear speaking up had cost her a lot of courage. Considering what he could guess of her life, Kal Su was impressed, and when Riko had stepped forward again, as if to shield the younger girl - she couldn’t be older than five - he had resigned himself to the new tag-along.

He wasn’t able to keep the trace of a smile from showing when he mused that Riko obviously had the same approach to taking in strays as her grandfather. Kal Su sighed as he felt himself relax. That was one thing taken care of. Now he’d have to keep an eye out for any signs of Kazeko and Jack’s return, and he’d have to tell the rest of his small family.

Well, both things could wait. Actually, telling them probably should wait until he saw them again anyway; that way Riko would already be well into her training and it would be less likely they’d try to interfere.

First, it seemed a good idea to poke around a little, see if he might be able to find any remains of the scum that had attacked them. There was something tightly coiled in his core now, that wanted to be let loose, and for once in a long time he felt no compunction at all about following the urge for utter destruction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you know Ashes Ney, Kal Su, Dark Schneider and co: good for you, but I didn’t see the point of listing it as a fandom. Not really that relevant, here, s’just where the idea came from, some few bloody ages ago =)
> 
> Also: no, I am not a native speaker, nor do I have a beta. Any potential reader finding a mistake is welcome to tell me.


	2. A Letter Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOW it is the year 1991. Summer. An Owl arrives, with a letter, as they do.

Nearly four years had passed since that fateful tanabata festival but the girl strolling out of a small, unused shrine near Shuri Castle, in the city of Naha, Okinawa, Japan, would have been easily recognizable. Though she had grown almost a foot in hight she was still rather small and skinny for her age and the slightly oversized brown Samue she was wearing made her look even younger.

But with dawn just creeping over the horizon, no one was around to see her, a fact Riko was glad of and counting on. Her current base was supposed to be blocked off and not accessible to the general public. Climbing lightly over the fence and ambling along cheerfully she enjoyed the fine weather and the way light and colour were slowly creeping into her surroundings, occasionally absently scratching herself on the neck or her forearms.

The combination of the July heat with lots and lots of rain, and the fact that her little shrine she was directly by a pond, did not help at all. Even with the incense she had lighted to keep them away there was no escaping the gnats. Riko would have loved to find a nice, out of the way corner by the sea to hole up in. A fresh, salty breeze would be just the thing, not to mention there were usually no gnats, not in the good places.

But as it was she hadn’t had any luck with that. She was spending most of her days training Naafa-dii, a traditional local martial art, with an old lady in a small park. Riko knew she was fortunate to find such a teacher so it wasn’t like she could spare much time for searching.

It was early enough that Riko could confidently slip into the same school building and bathroom as yesterday to wash herself. After unrolling her pack she took the time to survey her possessions and had to sigh. She’d have to go to the laundromat this evening. Of the handful of t-shirts, the pair of linen samue trousers, two pairs of jinbei shorts, and single samue jacket she owned, everything except the jacket either needed a wash or would need a wash once she had spent the day training in it.

The rest of her belongings made, even nearly a month after that mess up north, an equally short list: a bar of soap wrapped in a piece of linen used for a wash rag, a toothbrush wrapped together with toothpaste in another piece of linen, a comb, a towel, a pair of tabi shoes, her two old paperbacks, a pair of cloth tekkou hand- and armcovers, a pair of cloth kyahan shin-guards and a small, now cracked, box containing ink and a few brushes. Currently she also had a small bag of food, purchased yesterday with a small bottle of water.

Of course in the pockets of her jacket there were a few other small things like some pieces of paper, a small notepad, a few pens and pencils, lockpicks, a whetstone, a small wristwatch without its wristband, chalk, some string, and similar small-stuffs. And of course her two trusty kunai fangs in their sheaths strapped to her left leg and on her back, a small work kunai on a string on her belt, a small pocket knife and a handful of throwing stars and knives in a separate leather pouch.

After quickly cleaning up and changing into her clothes for the day, she arranged her things, minus the food, on the folded blanket. Expertly rolling it together and tying it up with some strings, it was only a few minutes until Riko was ready to move out, her pack hanging diagonally over her back.

Checking herself in the mirror she smiled as she tied her headband over her freshly combed but already tousled-again hair. A lost cause anyway, that, so she didn’t bother any further. It being still just a bit too early to meet her sensei in the park, Riko set out at a leisurely pace in its general direction.

With the light increasing and more and more people starting to move about she stepped into a smaller alley and concentrated, forming a seal with her fingers. Making sure not to drop the bag of food from under her elbow she started walking up the wall of the building next to her until she could step on its roof.

It was still not as easy as it would have been with her tabi or a pair of Chinese cloth shoes instead of those thonged setta sandals. But by now she had no trouble keeping herself steady and there was actually not one instance of a sandal sticking to the wall instead of her foot or trying to fall off. Riko let a pleased grin split her face and set out over the roofs.

After a while she found one perfect for a relaxed breakfast. It featured good tiles, was mostly flat, had a nice hight and a number of overhangs to seek shelter from rain, should it start. Riko took a seat, laying her pack to the side and enjoyed the food and drink.

A handful of rice balls with some dried fish and a bottle of mugicha really were an alright way to start the day. She also had a pack of rice crackers but she thought they would make a good lunch with some fruit, and for dinner she’d get something warm and freshly cooked at one of the yattai-carts.

Dangling her feet over the ledge and her sandals from her toes Riko let herself be entertained by the growing bustle in the street below. Children on their way to school mingled with office workers hurrying to their companies and workers transporting goods. Soon the shops that were now getting their deliveries would open.

Riko decided to go the rest of her way by roof as well. It was just so very entertaining to jump from one roof to the next, always ready to perform a seal to stick to a wall or push some more energy into her legs or lighten herself to carry her over an alley in one jump. And when a street was too wide there was always some cable or beam or sign that could be used to bridge the distance.

No one ever looked up, really, and that made it only more fun, to jump along over all their heads. Riko had already stowed the to-be-refilled bottle and the pack of rice crackers in her jacket and tied it so they wouldn’t fall out, ready to sling her pack over her shoulder and be on her way, when she was surprised by an owl.

She nearly lost a sandal, which would have been a real hassle. Especially as a falling shoe might have made someone actually look up and spot her. Scooting away from the edge of the roof, she saw the bird wasn’t alone. While the owl, a big brown bird, seemed somewhat put out and had dropped into her lap from behind with a sharp, practised turn, a large raven was still circling overhead. She also seemed to be laughing.

Riko sighed and gestured for her to come down. Clearly Korra had both led the owl to her and taken the chance to play a little trick on her. Said owl gave an indignant hoot at being ignored and jumped, flapping shortly to land on Riko’s pack. A fat scroll was tied to one leg, now held out rather impatiently, accompanied by hooting and stern beak clicking.

“Alright, alright.” Riko dug out her pocket knife to cut it off when she saw that the knots on the string were soaked and hard. The owl gave an imperious huff and a rustle of feathers, then flew off in the direction of Shuri castle.

“Huh.” Riko eyed the scroll nervously while Korra landed on the now-abandoned pack. She had expected, well, something to arrive this summer, had actually planned on it. But now she couldn’t help nervously weighting the scroll in her hand.

It was made of parchment so smooth it might as well be waxed, held closed by a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake arounng a large letter H. The seal not only held the scroll closed, it also fixed a string on which a small piece of parchment hung. On it, written in emerald-green ink, it read in English letters.

 

_Ms K. Slyver_

_wandering round the city_

_Naha_

_Okinawa_

_Japan._

 

Huffing about this lacklustre address, Riko could understand the owls temper. “Good you found that owl and brought it to me. Thanks, Korra!”

She scratched the raven in that special spot between the wings. The bird enjoyed the attention and let her self-satisfaction show while Riko bit her lips, inexplicably uneasy.

“You think it would’ve helped if I’d stayed up north?” she wondered.

Actually she doubted it even as she spoke, and the look her raven gave her was quite telling as well. For one, after that business with the young dragon she’d found tied up in some stuck-up mahotsuki family’s compound, she’d had good reason to make herself scarce.

And to be honest, even if she’d stayed on the big islands, Riko wouldn’t have had a better address there either. At least not for someone who addressed a letter in such a way. Though, to be fair, if someone had asked her for her address, or more generally speaking her whereabouts over the last few weeks, it would have quite likely been just that.

Catching herself sidetracking, she shook her head and hurried to break the seal. Unfurling the pages of yellowish parchment, Riko started to read

 

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 

_Dear Ms Slyver,_

 

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

 

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

 

“Well, that is very much to the point,” Riko mumbled. A quick look to the second page showed it was a list of the required things for a student to have, and thus not all that important right at this moment. Folding the two letters up to make them easier to transport, Riko frowned in thought.

It wasn’t unexpected, no, but now that she had actually gotten the letter, the whole situation seemed a bit more ..not daunting, exactly. More loaded, perhaps. Riko did have a plan, even if it was still a very rough, very general one. But now that the situation was at hand, all the things that might trip her up seemed to loom more closely.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she concentrated on clearing her head. It was still early so she decided to make a small list of her own, to put some order to all the things that needed doing now. Taking the empty bottle and rice crackers out of her jacket, she dug in her pockets for the notebook and a pencil, and set to work.

It didn’t take long until she could make a cleaned up list, one that included a probable sequence, on a fresh sheet of paper. That finished, Riko made sure the letters and her list were safely stowed away. The crackers she packed again, but the empty bottle and the used paper of her first list went into the first rubbish bin in the park.

Riko settled herself on the grass in their usual spot, using the time spent waiting to check her plan and go through the first steps she’d have to take. She’d seen her uncle just two weeks earlier and agreed to send word if her plan didn’t play out.

Consequently there was no reason to worry about contacting him just yet. After all, currently things were going according to her plan. Reminding herself of this was reassuring. Less reassuring was the voice that intruded on her thoughts as she was plotting her next steps.

“Brooding like that is a good way to invite trouble. Why, even an old lady like me could sneak up on you, child!”

Riko’s head had snapped up when she was addressed and she blushed, ashamed to have been caught brooding, because that was exactly what she’d been doing. And she hadn’t paid attention to her surroundings at all, which was even worse.

“Anko-san! Sorry, you’re of course right.” Riko quickly stood up and bowed slightly at the waist. Anko, she hadn’t given her family name, nodded at the girl, one eyebrow raised. She was a bit taller than Riko, but not by much, her build just as small and skinny and even their hair had some resemblance, in both cases a thick, white and rather short, unruly mop.

“I see, I’ll have to do without a training partner then,” Anko stated matter of factly.

She really didn’t miss a thing. After all, Riko had called her sensei as soon as she had agreed to show her some moves. Before the flustered girl could do more than open her mouth, she continued with a small smile.

“That’s quite alright, you’d warned me that you might have to leave on short notice.”

Then her look became serious again, “Now, just one last thing. If you can do so without getting into trouble, I want you to keep wearing your setta for the rest of the summer. Remember, one should take every chance to train. You have some discipline, but you could do better. Keep that in mind.”

Riko nodded “Yes, sensei. Thank you for your patience, and best wishes for your future. I hope I may see you again.”

She meant every word as she said it. The last few weeks had been very enjoyable with Anko as a teacher. The old woman was cheerful and direct, but also discreet and contained. She had never asked Riko about her family or where she was from, and Riko, though very curious, had respected her teachers privacy as well.

“Thank you, dear. I’m not going anywhere. And good fortune to you on your journey!” The old lady gave her a quick smile and then made a shooing motion before turning around to start her own kata.

Riko took her leave with a smile, mind already elsewhere. Firstly she had to get to the airport, and quickly, so she went into the next narrow and empty alley. Drawing a small thread of power she pictured herself fading from view, stepping out of and disconnecting from the rest of the world. It was easy enough as she used it often and had little contact with regular society anyway.

Obscured and thus invisible Riko then concentrated again, drawing energy and releasing it into a spell she had learned from her mother when she was five.

“Ba-Quo Raven,” she muttered under her breath, taking care to keep the energy steady, and launched herself upwards.

The flight spell was rather draining, but it was still morning, she’d had a good breakfast, and she didn’t plan to do much more direct magic today. After clearing the roofs Riko set out in the direction of the airport, trusting Korra to keep up. At the airport it was almost too easy.

All she had to do was keep out from underfoot so that no one would bump into her and make her visible again. At least half the aeroplanes were headed for Tokyo, so it didn’t take her long to find one that was still in the process of being loaded.

Waiting just around the shutter of the luggage area, she let Korra land on her shoulder and drew the Obscurantis effect over her. When the workers were finished Riko quickly slipped into the hold undetected. Watching the shutter being closed from the inside she relaxed and stretched. She had now roughly two hours to rest and work on her plans.

First she summoned a small witch light and looked for a good place to settle down. Riko really didn’t care to be buried by luggage when the plane started. Then she checked her watch and set an alarm. She didn’t think she’d fall asleep, or not wake up when the plane landed, but it was better to make sure.

When she settled back, Riko cancelled both the Obscurantis and the whisp. No need to waste energy after all. Her pack was in her lap and Korra settled herself there as well. When the plane started to move, Riko formed the same seal she had used to climb the wall, but now she used the energy to cling to the floor and wall. Too bad a ship and then the train would be so much slower.

She concentrated on even breaths and ignoring the ominous sound of the luggage as it rattled and bumped in its nets. After a while the sounds ceased and it seemed the plane had levelled out. Leaning back, Riko gave a sigh and let her fingers toy with the small key she had on a string around her neck.

Uncle Kal had given it to her a year ago, when she had convinced him of her plans. Riko grinned. She thought it was no small feat and quite a sign of his trust in her, that he had agreed to her idea of a year-long walk-about before she’d go to her fathers Wizarding School. And Riko was quite aware he didn’t think much of that either.

As far as her uncle was concerned, Jack Slyver was the only worthwhile result of the English Wizarding society. Possibly even of the entirety of magical societies of this world. He considered this worlds magic weak and convoluted, its users uninspired and stuffy. That none of them stood a chance against a wizard of his calibre didn’t help.

Riko couldn’t really argue much with this point of view, but she thought it also a very entertaining chance to turn all those people on their head. She still remembered many of the stories of mischief and fun her father had told her, both about his youth in that school and in general. To her, it seemed the perfect setting to start out as a masterthief and explorer. Maybe become a pirate later, an undercover pirate.

Pulling the wool over peoples eyes while pointedly robbing them right and left was certainly an entertaining thing to do, both in her experience so far and from the way she’d always enjoyed stories about it. And Riko was quite sure that any of her family members would find the idea either nice and harmless or hilarious and entertaining. Well, perhaps not Yoko, depending, but at least Uncle Kal seemed to vary between the two.

Getting her mind back on track she fingered the key again. It had been a matter of pride to not use it this last year, the key to her father’s personal account. Riko thought it quite fitting that she would use it for her start in fooling the British wizarding world. But to use it for that personal year of walk-about would have been all wrong.

After all, that year was for her to see if she was able to actually take care of herself. Using her fathers money would have made the entire exercise moot. As it was, Riko was quite satisfied with herself. There had been a number of close calls, when she had gotten in over her head, but she had made it through just fine and learned a lot in the process. Now, if she could keep her mind about her, and her composure in general, this wouldn’t be any different.

Riko was still going over her plans for the rest of the day when the plane started its landing. At least she hoped that was the reason it was tilting and groaning as she made herself once again cling to the wall, dreading the noise of escaping luggage hurling her way. It turned out she was correct, though the landing was definitely more bumpy than the take-off. As soon as it was safe to stand up Riko slipped her pack over her shoulder, told Korra to stay quietly on her shoulder, and obscured them again.

Once they were outside the airport, Riko made her way to the next railway station and let her Obscuring fall away to buy a ticket. It took her a while to reach the Hibiya-Inn after exiting at Tokyo Station and she was glad to see its traditional, weathered front. As Riko currently had only some common yen she just nodded politely to the mahotsuki at the bar and continued to the back door leading into the garden.Taking a left turn she rapped the wall that separated this one from the neighbouring garden twice smartly with her middle finger. 

The wall dissolved into a fine mist, and when Riko stepped under the tall, stately tori, and through, she was not in the neighbouring garden but instead on Uzumaki-do, the main street of Tokyo’s magical society. So far Riko had only rarely scouted into this territory. Even with Eliria-sensei they had only spent a very short time here to collect a few scrolls. She hurried along, looking for the big bookshop, ah, yes, there it was.

Yahiko no Himitsu sold just about any scroll or book imaginable, and Riko made haste to inquire about traveller’s tales to London and a lingua loquendi for British English. The old Kappa clerk didn’t even bat an eye before answering exactly on what shelf they could be found. She thanked him courteously, taking care not to nod before her hand was positioned right, and after checking the prices continued speedily on her way to the massive-looking building of Gringotts.

It was the first time Riko set foot inside the famous bank and it wasn’t easy to keep herself from staring as she walked up the stairs to the entrance. The tall, massive building, made entirely of stone and tiled in deepest blues, towered over its neighbours like a proud dragon in their court. The entrance could only be called a gate, covered entirely in burnished bronze and featuring a serious looking goblin guard on either side. They nodded stiffly at her as she passed and she carefully mirrored the greeting as she stepped into the wide, bare entryway.

Very fortress, really, the only thing missing was a fall gate, though Riko wouldn’t assume there wasn’t one just because she couldn’t see it, and she couldn’t exactly look properly, either, watched as she was. Instead she walked purposefully towards the second set of massive double doors, shining silver, the feel of lurking wards sizzling around them.

She half expected sparks to leak out at the edges of the engraved sigils, enchanted so strongly and cleverly that, although she wasn’t even sure if the actual writing was done in kanji, some goblin language, or other runes she might even have seen before, their meaning reverberated down to her bones.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed,_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Riko stopped, she had to lean back her head to read it, and she couldn’t help but feel excited at the confident challenge. It would certainly take time until she was up to it, but nothing would stop her then! She bowed back to two goblins in their red and gold uniform as they opened the door for her. It lead directly in to a vast hall, tiled in lively-veined marble.

Dozens of goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing various coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were numerous doors leading off the hall and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Riko made for the counter.

“Well met,” she nodded to a free goblin. “I’ve come to take some money out of Mr. Jack Slyver’s account.” Riko held up the key on it’s string for inspection, glad the counter was only up to her shoulders. She didn’t fancy letting go of the string.

The goblin took the key in her long, thin fingers and held it very close to her swarthy, clever face, going even so far as to sniff it. Then she nodded.

“That seems to be in order. Will you need to take out anything directly or is this just a monetary withdrawal?”

Riko was just about to say ‘Just a monetary withdrawal’ when she thought better of it, her curiosity piqued. If she really wanted to break into this place, even if that was still years off, wouldn’t it be better to see as much of it as possible?

“I’ll go in directly, thank you,” she said instead.

“Very well,” the goblin nodded and flipped some numbers on a mounted abacus beside her. “Fhuuzhako will take you down.”

Not a minute later another goblin walked up, nodding shortly at Riko who nodded back and followed her towards one of the doors leading off the hall. Fhuuzhako held the door open for her and Riko was intrigued to find herself in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor.

Fhuuzhako whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks, stopping in front of them. They climbed in and it took off at breakneck speed, making so many incredibly fast turns that after a while Riko gave up trying to remember. Her eyes stung from the cold air rushing past them and she only realized she was grinning madly when her teeth started to ache from the cold wind.

A look at Fhuuzhako showed the goblin was gripping the front edge of their cart, her face tight with concentration. Riko couldn’t see any controls but she would have bet quite a lot she was magically steering them. After a while they raced into a suddenly billowing cloud of green smoke.

It completely obscured her sight and at first Riko tried to hold her breath but it took too long. Upon taking a deep, scentless gulp of it she was glad when there seemed to be no averse effects. Then the air cleared again and she could see they were plunging ever deeper, passing deep ravines and even an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and the floor.

When they stopped and climbed out the air was warm and heavy and smelled faintly of fire and earth. They were again in a narrow stone passage and Riko could see a roughly hewn arch a few feet from were the cart had stopped, but there seemed to be only the same rock wall inside it. Well, until Fhuuzhako stepped up to it and stroked the rock gently with one of her long fingers, then it simply melted away.

The goblin seemed rather pleased by Riko’s impressed look, then moved discreetly to the side. Riko was just as impressed by the contents of the large room she could now enter. There were big mounds and heaps of all sorts of different coins and on the walls stretched deep stone shelves with all sorts of items and chests. She walked around until she found a group of four mounds huddled close together and sporting the right colours and coinhapes.

Taking a string out of her pocket Riko threaded two heavy Ryuu-coins with their different faces of gold and jade on it, then counted eight of the smaller golden Kuma-coins and finished with a handful Sakana, small change for some snacks. Anyone selling in the price range of Neko would take Kumas and be able to change out, after all.

It took an effort not to walk up to the shelves and look through all the odd and perhaps even known items. But she could always come again and right now she was on a schedule, so she turned and went back out.

“Say, Fhuuzhako-san, what was that green mist when we drove here?”

What Riko really wanted to ask was if it really wasn’t something to worry about. And even more she wanted to know how the goblin had let the stone in the doorway melt away or directed the cart through the labyrinthine passageways. But it was usually better to be polite and she didn’t think the goblin would appreciate those questions. As it was, even her seemingly harmless question had Fhuuzhako eyeing her weirdly.

After a short pause the goblin replied in a carefully neutral tone. “This is an all access account, meaning it is accessible from any branch of Gringotts.”

Riko had to blink at that. From any.. well, it did make sense, right, considering the years her father had spent travelling through all the world. He wouldn’t have wanted to always go to the same branch, even less so if he had opened the account first in London.

“Oh. He never said.. I apologize if this was a stupid question, it’s just that Da never mentioned it and I was curious,” she answered in he expectant silence. It seemed to mollify the goblin, as she nodded a short “Quite alright.”

Walking back to the cart, Riko tried to continue the conversation. “It must take quite a lot of spellwork and energy to keep something like that going. Is it some kind of spacefold inside which the account is placed or is the way a fold that is being made accessible?”

Fhuuzhako shot her a sharp look at the question, but seemed to take her interest as a compliment. “It is the way that’s the fold. And it is indeed very maintenance-intensive. Costs quite a bit in upkeep, such an account, but with the interest this one is collecting, he’s still making good money just by letting it lie around.” Slanting a look at Riko she continued blithely “The vault hasn’t been visited in quite some time.”

It seemed Riko wasn’t the only one being polite about her questions. As they climbed back into the cart, Riko marvelled at the way fae etiquette was used by almost any being when conversing in uncertain waters. She also thanked all the fates for Eliria’s lessons and decided to be as forthcoming as possible.

“Yeah, he hasn’t been on this plane in a while and far as I know he has some obligations that’ll keep him busy and away for the next years, too. I don’t suppose it’ll be much more than ten years till he comes by again, though.” She shrugged, as if to say that her father hadn’t told her any more on the matter. It was all literally true, after all.

Fhuuzhako nodded once, already laying her hands on the cart and concentrating again. Riko didn’t want to distract her through the ride, who knew where they might end up if the goblin lost her focus. Instead she carefully thought about the last minutes and prodded her memories from _before_. When they had climbed out of the cart she quickly addressed the goblin again before she could walk off and officially end their interaction.

“You are in charge of his account, aren’t you?” Riko looked Fhuuzhako directly in the eye, both to observe her reaction and to show she had nothing to hide herself. “I’m guessing you were called to the counter by use of the transferred vault number. I noticed most of the other people were accompanied by goblins that had already been at the doors in the hall.”

If she was right, it would be very important to have Fhuuzhako trust her. Riko didn’t care to have any trouble about accessing her fathers account for the next few years. It wouldn’t be impossible, but it would certainly be a hassle if she had to steal enough to buy all the things she would need. Besides, Riko was quite glad her father seemed to have an account manager who took her duty seriously. It would be good to have her as an ally.

Fhuuzhako’s face had become completely neutral again. “You are very sharp,” she said in a voice that was so even it could have served as a water-level. One of her pointed ears, the left one, twitched slightly and Riko had a moment of clarity that made her grin mischievously.

“Sheesh, you look as if it I’d presented you with a tengu’s feather fan.” Riko still remembered the story her father had told her when she was five. He had received such a hauchiwa, a powerful magical artefact if one knew how to use it, as a reward from a tengu he’d done a favour. Afterwards, when he had brought it to Gringotts, he’d had a bit of a surprise.

The fan, being a construct of air and storm magics, reacted violently to being stored in a vault whoever-knows how many miles in the earth. He had to wait until his account manager could procure a box worked of sapphire, tourmaline, and rock crystal, properly attuned to the element air.

As he’d made some plans already, he’d decided to leave the item in the hands of the goblin who both ran his account and had agreed to acquire said box. In the end it had meant said goblin couldn’t go underground for three weeks, though her father had mentioned said manger had never complained about it.

He said he’d always wondered if perhaps being keeper for such a powerful air-aligned artefact had affect her somehow. But whenever he had brought up the fan in conversation the goblin’s ear had started to twitch and he hadn’t been sure if it meant she was amused or annoyed. Riko had been quite disappointed by that, but now she could understand it better, a little.

Then Riko was awed by the smile she received. With the enormous number of sharp teeth it was.. very toothy. Fhuuzhako’s dark, slanted eyes and her pointed nose crinkled and the overall effect was both scary and endearing. Riko decided to definitely ask about the effects of the fan, but some other time. They were after all standing in a more or less public passage. Fhuuzhako seemed very aware of this as well as she gave Riko a short nod.

“I am in charge of his account.” The goblins face settled back into a more businesslike look as she continued, “You do bear a startling resemblance to your father, Ms. Slyver. I take it you will be visiting more often during the next years?”

“Yes, I’ll be attending his old school in Britain,” Riko nodded, paying close attention to the persistent hints of dry humour in her vault manager. Fhuuzhako’s dark eyes were still glinting while her voice was perfectly level again.

“I see. Ask for me if you have any specific requests regarding the account.” After that, the goblin held the door to the main hall open for Riko. Stepping through with a grateful nod, Riko walked away without looking back with an easy step and in high spirits.

Judging by her words and how short she had been with Riko, Fhuuzhako had decided to accept her as personal customer. Goblins were funny like that. Unlike Fae who liked to talk and talk and talk when they liked you, goblins saw it as the height of courtesy to waste as little of your time as possible.

Her fiscal situation was secured and she had plenty of time left today to prepare for tomorrow. It looked like Riko was all set and ready to get started on her next big adventure: her own, personal conquest of Magical Britain.


	3. Getting There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving somewhere is not actually just setting your feet onto the respective soil, especially if you have to take care of everything yourself.

Looking back on it, Riko should have known better than to be quite so relaxed about the tasks ahead of her. And also the change from, hm, infiltrator might cover it, to normal society person. For one, she hadn’t really appreciated just how stressful getting there would be.

First, she went to the wrong airport, the one she had arrived at yesterday. After wasting time searching for flights to London she learned most international flights used a second airport, namely Narita. Then she had to get there, which was just tedious, seeing how the distance from Tokyo Station was over four times that to Haneda airport. And then she had to wait for a flight that headed for London, because she had apparently just missed the last one.

It was afternoon when her aeroplane was to start, but it was actually a good thing she had to wait. It let her get more supplies for the journey after she’d already eaten her first waybread for lunch. Sneaking into the cargo hold of the plane was actually easier this time, with the airport bigger than Nara or Haneda, and the plane, too.

Another thing she hadn’t counted on was the length of the flight. In the end Riko spent more than twelve hours in the cold, uncomfortable cargo hold, devoid of any source of light.

Determined to use the time efficiently, she’d conjured some witch lights and started to work through the lingua loquendi. It started off very well as she had no distractions and was plenty motivated. Following the instructions she made sure to gulp down one of the enclosed pills with plenty of clear, unflavoured water and not to eat anything with sugar in it.

Supposedly one should always take a longer break after two hours of the course, but the first few chapters held little new content. Riko did have some prior knowledge, after all, from her parents and later some of Eliria’s lessons, not to mention the two books she owned were written in the language. Besides, the cargo hold itself was just too boring otherwise.

When she closed the book to stop it’s pronouncing exercise because her headache was starting to really bother her Riko’s watch told her it was going on half twenty-two. Then she hastily closed her eyes: apparently her interest in the activity had kept the worst at bay. Ouch. The weak light of her whisp and the few sounds in the cargo-hold, previously not even noticed, now seemed to be physically battering at her brain.

Her back and neck were complaining about mistreatment as well, and when she stretched the rest of her limbs felt somehow stiff and gummy at the same time. Riko made a face and stuck out her tongue when the bad taste in her mouth suddenly seemed a palpable thing. To top it all off, her eyes hurt even when they were closed and her throat was painfully dry.

Massaging her pounding temples she grumbled irritably at Korra. “Sheesh, y’think y’could’ve reminded me to take a break? That’s almost ten damn hours of bloody magical language-training! What if it’s fried my brain or something?”

Korra’s reply was a cackling caw that suggested that Riko’s brain had been fried a long, long time ago. The raven then shifted about in the small nest she had made of Riko’s pack. The relaxed way she preened herself showed she was quite proud of her own good sense: Korra had dozed through most of the flight.

Riko sighed. Her supply of water had been exhausted a while ago and all she had left to eat was an apple. On second thought it was probably a good thing learning the language this way required so much water for her brain that even after drinking two litres, she felt dehydrated. Having to take a leak down here would’ve been a right bother.

She killed the witchlights and quickly munched away her apple, leaving nothing but the stem. Then, sighing quietly about her discomfort, Riko rolled herself up on the cool floor, using her pack as a pillow. She didn’t know how much longer the flight would take and had to be ready when they arrived, so unrolling her blanket was out of the question. Despite her discomfort she was asleep in the first few breaths.

When Riko woke up to clanging sounds and darkness she felt like she’d only closed her eyes a few seconds. Korra was yanking on her hair and after a dizzying moment of disorientation Riko realized where she was. Then she heard the cargo hold being opened. Patting herself on the back for huddling in this out of sight corner she hastily readied herself.

While she carefully slipped through the bustle of the airport, Riko congratulated herself for paging through both the muggle and wizarding books on the previous evening. Or the one before that? Furrowing her brow she continued on the path she had planned out, ignoring her current, time-related confusion, pulling up her usual dark-haired and -eyed glamour.

Only when she had a ticket and was sitting in the correct train did Riko allow herself to really take stock. Her head still hurt and her entire body ached from sleeping in a jacket filled with hard, uncomfortable things, including the lingua loquendi book that seemed to have permanently dented her ribs. She was hungry and thirsty.

She was also incredibly tired and when she looked at her watch, she could easily understand why. It was quite some time after midnight for her and she had slept less than one-and-a-half hours after her insane language-run. Looking around, Riko saw that for the locals it was still the 25th, late afternoon. Just great. She had just lost eight hours.

More exactly, she had lost eight hours worth of sleep after going through about half of a magical language course set to take weeks if not months. She didn’t even have the option of a quick fix-it trick as anything more complex or delicate than directly damaged tissue such as cuts or broken bones was still too difficult for her.

Inconspicuously looking around, Riko reminded herself she’d have to be careful not to show any weakness. So far people seemed inclined to leave her alone, though occasionally glancing curiously at her. Or at Korra. But this curiosity could lead to all sorts of trouble as soon as someone thought they either should help a weary and lost looking kid or if someone got the idea they could in some way take advantage of her.

Sitting up straight, Riko rummaged for the muggle tourist guide she’d put in the bag from Yahiko’s. Why she hadn’t put the lingua loquendi back in there again she really didn’t know. Pointedly ignoring the other passengers, Riko opened the small book and checked a few marked pages again, occasionally scribbling in her notebook.

Then she repeated the same with the mahoutsuki equivalent, a travelling trader’s tales from the twenties, the most recent one she’d found. Damn, but the Commons, well, Muggles, here, really had a leg up with that.

Riko had of course not been able to find a place to stay, yet. The few mentioned mahoutsuki inns, if they were even still around, would be far too well-known and established for her to safely ask for a room. Too many potential questions. Bad place to start being a proper member of society.

Instead she’d noted several areas described as ‘picturesque working-class’ and ‘historically characteristic but lacking actual sights’. Muggle side first, she’d decided. There would certainly be some small pubs there, busy enough staying open, whose owners wouldn’t mind letting her a room for a few weeks.

Riko resisted the urge to check the British Pounds she had in one of the pockets in her jacket. The goblin in Gringotts hadn’t batted an eye when she’d shown up as soon as the doors had opened in the morning and asked if they also carried British muggle money. From what she’d read in her guide one hundred pound in notes of five and ten should be a good start.

Having finished her list of potential areas, their tube-stations, and how to get there, Riko continued to mechanically read about the history of those areas. It took almost an hour until the train was actually in the inner parts of the city: when she had to change to another line at Green Park her watch told her it was going on two.

Riko was glad to change trains. The less people saw of her, the less likely it was they’d try to talk to her, or even worse, ask questions. Having arrived at the first likely area Riko let go of her glamour, glad to draw the lighter Obscurantis over herself. She really didn’t want to worry about someone asking her if she was lost.

After about half an hour of trudging through the darkening, winding alleys, Riko was starting to seriously doubt the brilliance of her plan. She had walked past a few pubs already, either because they were too full and loud or because they were closed or open but suspiciously empty. At least the weather was warm enough.

If she really couldn’t find anything she’d just look for a nice roof to sleep on. Couldn’t be that different here, and maybe remaining a shadow first would be smart. Turning into an even smaller alley, Riko decided to do just that if she hadn’t found something by the next street.

Somewhere ahead of her someone opened a door and propped it open. As the person, a tall, lanky woman, proceeded to drag out a few rickety wooden tables and chairs Riko grew convinced that it was a pub, just opening. There were no customers yet, which was a bonus.

Walking up, she saw the main room wasn’t lit yet, only behind the bar glowed a warm, dim lamp. There were no boards or signs announcing prices, so whoever frequented the pub likely knew what it sold. Or perhaps she was just far too early.

Still obscured, Riko silently entered the pub and looked around. From outside the house was only about four yard wide and three storeys high. From inside, it seemed roomier and she could view both the ground floor and the first floor, the latter converted to a balcony. The pub’s main area was to her left, with seven round tables arranged in a pleasant manner.

The bar stood maybe ten yards from the door, facing the entrance with a good ten bar stools lining it. Between that and a dartboard in the left corner was a chequered wood-and-glass door, likely leading to the kitchen and toilets. Directly facing the entrance a flight of stairs led up to the where she could see more tables and chairs through the balcony railing.

The entire furniture as well as the floor and stairs seemed to be of old-fashioned make. Well-used wood and warm brass accents made it seem friendly even without the lamps lighted. It looked and smelled clean and relaxing, of wood and wax and herbs.

Riko stepped further in, treading softly to keep the floorboards from creaking. Behind some bushels of green hanging over the bar she could now see small blackboards announcing the prices of food and drinks. She’d almost reached the bar when the door to the back opened.

The woman she had seen earlier walked through it with a crate of beer and then looked directly at Riko. At least she seemed slightly surprised, though not nearly as much as Riko herself felt at being seen. After a short moment the woman nodded politely and greeted her.

“Good ev’nin’ then,” the woman said after a silent moment of mutual, well, not staring. Examination, that fit, all polite and calm, as they were. “Bit early fer cust’mers, but never ya mind, s’not that far off the prop’r time.”

She had cheerful if sharp blue eyes, nestled in fine lines, and very short hair that showed a wild mix of brown and grey. Riko nodded back and cursed herself for not looking at the opening times, likely written on the door she had simply stepped past.

Casting around for something to say, the first thing that came to her mind was, “Thank you for your welcome. A large water please, and a mug of elderberry tea.”

She was after all very thirsty and the tea was the last thing she’d just read on the boards. Careful not to show her unease at being seen, Riko headed for a barstool that was hidden from the entrance in the niche of the stair. Hanging her bags over it’s small back, she let her failed Obscurantis go and climbed on the stool.

Sitting and leaning on the bar felt nicer than it should have, although her limbs took the short rest as a chance to complain about bad treatment again. Watching the barkeeper pour her a large glass of water, Riko thought about the situation. When the woman placed the glass in front of her, Riko paid and then took the chance.

“Thank you. Excuse me, but when does the pub open, officially? And could I order something to eat as well, or should I wait until you’re open?”

Something about her wording must have been off, from the look she received. But the barkeep didn’t react to whatever oddity Riko had committed. Instead she gave a very welcome answer.

“Right, it’s no problem. I can make ya’a sandwich. Cook’s not in yet, but I got time’nough. Op’nin’ time by th’ letter’s half sev’n, but I always start up a little early. Less stress tha’ way.” The odd woman actually winked at her as she said that last bit. Riko smiled cautiously.

“Yeh’ll want someting special, fer yar bird?” Now the barkeep was actually grinning at her and Riko relaxed a bit. Whatever was the matter here, it didn’t seem bad.

“Nah, that’s a’right, she’ll have a bit of my sandwich. Just put some meat on it, doesn’t matter which kind.” Riko hesitated for a moment, then she continued, “But if you have any little snacks in the mean time, neither of us will decline.”

The woman eyed her again as if puzzled but her good-natured cheer seemed to win out. From behind the bar she took two little bowls and filled them with salt-and-pepper nuts from a rather impressively sized tin can, then placed both in front of Riko, with a quick grin.

“If yer bird’s clean, she c’n eat at th’bar. If not, all bet’s ’re off!” She wiggled exaggeratedly with her eyebrows and then moved back to pour the freshly boiling water from the electric kettle in a mug she’d prepared. It smelled pretty good.

Glancing over she gave a slight smile and a short “Needs ter steep fer a bit. I’ll put it up when I’m done with yer sandwich,” then went back through the door.

Korra immediately jumped from Riko’s shoulder and started to very cleanly eat the snacks. Riko sipped on her water and thoughtfully chewed the nuts. First, a closer inspection of the pub was in order, and she wanted to know at least the approximate prices of what she ordered. Turning around, Riko saw a big clock face in the middle of the first floor wall.

Official opening time was about forty minutes away. As she leaned back in her seat she was gratified to be able to read the rest of the prices without having to stand up. Her limbs were feeling a bit too heavy to move just yet. Steadily draining the water and munching the snacks was also helping with her headache, so that was one more thing to be grateful for.

Riko wasn’t quite sure yet how to treat this situation. It had some definite upsides already, but also a few unknown quantities, which could prove to be a very bad thing. The barkeeper seemed a friendly enough sort and also quite relaxed. Acknowledging Korra and making her a non-issue at the same time was definitely a bonus in evaluating this, as was her complete non-reaction to Riko’s appearance, both kinds. The tea smelled insanely good, and just the fact that this pub carried elderberry tea was, well, something.

On the one hand it was odd. Riko was almost sure it was not something any normal pub would carry and the tea had been ladled from an artful piece of earthware. On the other hand she currently tended to view this as a good sort of odd. In combination with the other weird aspects Riko was starting to suspect at least part of the pubs customers might be fae.

Every bit of metal she had seen so far and could see now had the warm glow of brass or coper. The rustic furniture showed a curious mix of old-fashioned styles and the smell of normal clean soap and wax instead of other cleaning agents was another hint. Pushing a little magic to increase her natural nightvision without losing the colours, Riko took a closer look at the pictures and trinkets she could see on the walls.

Viewed with her suspicion in mind, they added to her theory: flowing shapes, clear colours, and motives that could easily be linked to famous fae styles. There was a very small selection of coffee and black tea on the price list, other than that, the menu sported a big list of herbal teas and other fresh greens and meats.

The bushels of herbs hanging above the bar were quite fresh. The door and window, now that Riko looked at them, were worked in a pretty art nouveau style that reminded her of some of the traditional patterns Eliria-sensei had once drawn for her. Although one could not look through the coloured glass into pub to see who was inside, the view outside was far better.

Also, considering how narrow the building looked from the outside, Riko was surprised the tables did not make the room feel cramped. Instead there was enough place between the tables to allow for a measure of privacy, perhaps even some dancing. She couldn’t feel any magic at work, but then she was still nursing a headache and rather tired to boot. And fae-magic was never easy to detect for her, even with Eliria-sensei’s lessons.

At a tug on her sleeve from Korra Riko took some more nuts and chewed, her mind snapping back to the situation at hand. Regardless if this pub was frequented by fae or any other kind of magical and-or diet-conscious folks, she had to decide if she wanted to try and make this her base. The fact that the barkeep had looked through her Obscurantis was worrying, but also a hint in itself. If fae were indeed welcome here, that might be a good thing.

As a general rule, fae had little patience or care for any ‘second world stuffiness’, including most rules and regulations issued by governments. Their ingrained secretiveness also led them to be reluctant to ask questions when in polite company. As long as they had no reason to assume she was either trouble or in trouble, they were the people least likely to bother her with questions.

Well, theoretically. Beside Eliria Riko had only really met about a dozen fae in their year-long journey. They had certainly been alright, but that had been mostly in China. Perhaps it was different in Europe. But Eliria was from France and she certainly would’ve mentioned it. Riko hoped absently she wouldn’t get drawn into any political conflicts between agents of the different fae nations just by being here...

She was saved from her meandering and admittedly pointless worries by the door to the back opening again. Shaking off her mental mumbling, Riko fixed her eyes on the plate of food. It was a damn good looking sandwich, or rather two sandwiches. She hastily dug out some of the pound-notes and waved away the change.

“You’re not even open yet, so really, thank you for going to the trouble!” Riko gave the barkeep a grateful smile.

“Cheers, told yeh, s’no problem.” The barkeep smiled back. “Enjoy your meal. And welcome to Errol’s Pub, too.”

Riko’s thanks were somewhat muffled by a mouthful of sandwich. It was indeed delicious and also added to her theory. The bread was crusty and flavourful, not white, the chicken well-seasoned, and the sliced greens fresh. When her mug of elderberry tea was placed in front of her with a small honey pot accompanying it instead of sugar, she was not surprised.

By the clock she could see in the mirror behind the bar, Riko finished her plate in less than ten minutes. Well, Korra helped, being on her best behaviour the entire time. The barkeep used the time to carry in a few more crates of different brands of beer, ale, and cider, stocking them in what was likely cold cupboards behind the bar.

Then she arranged and restocked some interesting looking bottles in different shelves and made some notes, sticking them to a pin board. The old-fashioned looking phone fixed beside it on the wall seemed oddly out of place. Stirring some honey in her tea, Riko placed Korra back on her shoulder and then slid the plate back.

“Thank you, after today’s journey that was exactly what I needed.” Deciding to take a chance, she introduced herself just as Eliria had taught her. If all her theories were wrong, or the barkeep took offence at anything else, she’d just have to make a quick getaway. “I’m Riko, free traveller of the lands. I’m grateful for your hospitality.”

Sipping her tea, she watched the barkeep through half-lowered lashes behind her thick white fringe. In situations like these Riko was even more grateful than usual for the dominance of Dark Schneider’s genes. Her lashes were, like those of her grandfather and mother, uncommonly long and black like her eyebrows, in defiance of her white hair.

The general custom, even more so with fae, was to make yourself known first, and the traditional greeting offered not only her name but also a frame for further possible interactions. Only if the other party accepted, of course...

The woman was eyeing her first with some surprise then curiosity. After a moment’s thought she seemed to have come to a decision: she gave Riko a nod and a grin.

“Sure look it, em, like ye’re not from around here. I’m Ilar, and I’m glad yah like me pub. Shows ya got good taste, I’d say.”

Riko was relieved her offer seemed to have been accepted, but resolved to stay on her guard. Still, the only courteously implied question was heartening, and she had been offered a name. She thought that warranted some optimism, at least, and the musical accent of the barkeep was already tickling her curiosity. Lilting, a bit, and different from what she’d heard here so far, or from her father. Mind, she had heard it, but.. anyway, for later, that, clearly.

“Glad to make your acquaintance, Ilar-san. I just arrived from Tokyo today and haven’t had a chance to change yet.” Riko smiled and took a sip of tea before continuing carefully. “I have some business to see to in this city. You wouldn’t perchance know of a good place to rent a room?”

Again Ilar studied her for a moment before answering. There was a more serious note in her tone when she answered. “I know of a good place, sure enough. Yer business isnae goin cause yer any troubles, is it?”

That was a question Riko was glad to answer honestly. “Nah, I just need to make some purchases and while some time away before continuing my training.” She gave a shrug with an easy grin. “I do like my privacy, especially from any overly stuffy folks, but I’m not trailing trouble, nor do I intend to start any, you have my true and original word on that.”

Ilar gave her a long look at that, her eyes extra sharp with shrewd intelligence. Riko looked back calmly. The barkeep threw a look of the same make at Korra, then again at Riko, then she smiled. Her blue eyes practically shone with good humour as she replied. “Aw, aye, in tha’ case, I guess I can rent ye a room. Seein’ how ye’re a guest already and all.”

Riko gave her a pleased smile at that, careful not to let her relief show. As she continued drinking her tea, they haggled over the price and Riko was introduced to Wynne, the youngish, darkish cook, who bustled in about fifteen minutes before the pub was to open. Having agreed to pay for three night’s rest in advance, Riko pulled an appropriate number of five pound notes out of her pocket and then let Ilar show her the way.

They first ascended the stairs to the upper level of the pub, where five tables were skilfully arranged to leave a surprising amount of space between them. A door in the back lead to a flight of stairs directly attached to the back of the building, though roofed to shelter it from bad weather. They entered the second floor in a small hallway, about two by four yards, that ended it a dark green door.

“My bed’s partly below that stair,” Ilar said as they ascended the stairs set against the left wall, up to the attic. “So I’ll thank yeh for takin a care in th’ mornin’. I do work quare late, yeh know.” Ilar winked at Riko, who interrupted her looking-around for a quick nod.

Upstairs was again a small hallway but with three doors and a small wall-ladder leading up to a hatch in the ceiling. Without being asked, Ilar had waved at the middle door in the small corridor and said “Just storage, what with no window and all,” and Riko appreciated this very much. The door facing the stairs and the one opposite it lead to almost identical, smallish rooms.

A bed with a slim bedside cabinet and a couple of shelves were lit by two fixed wall lamps, a small window lurking at floor hight. The door to a two by two toilet with sink and mirror but no window was open, obviously to keep it aired. Some might call the rooms Spartan but Riko was used to far less accommodating stays and also tired enough to almost fall asleep on her feet. With both currently free, she chose the room to the back of the building, nodding her thanks upon receiving a set of brass keys.

“Cheers and have a good rest,” Ilar said, adding with a cheerful wink, “If ye need anythin’, I’ll be down at the pandemonious party.”

The barkeep departed with a wave and Riko locked the door behind her, leaving the key in and putting up a small warning ward, just to be sure. It was odd to be a known presence but she’d have to get used to it anyway and this _was_ an inn. She’d best treat it like Gin-san’s, and she had some experience from her travels with Eliria, and she hadn’t been a shade _all_ the time last year so surely it’d work out..

Sighing tiredly she laid her bags to the side, then crouched to open the window. As she straightened she promptly bumped her head against the sloped roof. Grumbling, Riko shed her jacket and dropped straight into bed, the sheaths of her two kunai fangs in direct reach. She was asleep even before her head hit the pillow.

Perhaps it was the stress the lingua loquendi had put on her brain, but Riko slept like a stone. She didn’t even stir at what would have been her usual early time. When she at last woke it was to light and a warm breeze entering the cosy room through the small window. Facing east then. Korra was nowhere to be seen, probably busy exploring the new environment.

After a few moments of relaxedly looking around, Riko stretched luxuriously. The bed was quite big for her, designed to be comfortable for a grown-up, the mattress pleasantly springy and the linens fresh and crisp. The air in the room was a delightful mix of fresh morning air, the warmer breeze that was announcing the days fine weather, and the clean, cosy smells of wax, wood, soap, and drying herbs. A moment’s search showed small bushels of greens hanging from the two small, wall-mounted lanterns.

The headache was gone and Riko felt refreshed and ready for the day. She was confident she’d get everything she needed done today and her mood was accordingly bright. Washing up in the small toilet and changing into fresh clothes, she made her plans for the day, whistling a cheery tune. Mostly she had to buy things, a whole list. She could talk to Ilar in the evening, or tomorrow, about staying until the morning of September the first.

Riko took care to be silent as she locked the door and descended the stairs by sliding down the railing. She had both books on here and her notebook in her jacket, and she had a plan.

After breakfast in a café near Charing Cross, she made her way to the street described in the mahoutsuki book. Looking at the numbers on the houses as much as the buildings themselves, she found the tiny pub between a big bookshop on one side and a record shop on the other. Business hours in the street were just starting and there weren’t many people about, a fact Riko much appreciated.

The Leaky Cauldron was open, if it indeed ever closed: she couldn’t see a sign with opening hours anywhere. As she entered, the first thing she noticed was that it was rather dark inside. It also looked a bit run-down, or rather worn out: as if it’s great time had already passed and it was in need of a good rest or clean-up. Compared to the lively, well-looked-after Errol’s Pub it didn’t make a very good impression. Not exactly bad, but certainly not good, either.

Currently there were only a few customers. Two old men were sitting in a corner, mumbling and nursing what seemed to be ale. At the bar a large woman was talking quietly to the barman, whose bald head looked a bit like a gummy walnut. They were both smoking fancily carved pipes. As she entered Riko felt all eyes turn on her, a fact she really could have done without.

“Good day,” she said to the room at large, nodding shortly at the barman to add, “Just passing through.” Moving towards the back entrance at a good, steady pace, she was glad when she was standing in the small, walled courtyard, the door closing behind her.

Riko stepped up to the dustbin and quickly counted the bricks in the wall behind it. Going three up and two across, she pulled up some threads of power and knocked thee times with the knuckle of her middle finger. According to her book, British mahoutsuki used their wands for this but anything with a sufficient measure of magic could trigger the barrier.

After a moment of waiting the brick she had touched quivered, then it wriggled. In the middle, a small hole opened and grew, wider and wider – a second later she was facing an archway almost as high as the Tori that lead to Uzumaki-do. It lead on to a cobbled street, which twisted and turned out of sight.

Riko quickly stepped through and then looked behind her to see the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. As she walked into the direction the Gringotts building was supposed to be, Riko looked curiously around. It was still early enough that not many people were walking around and some shops were just in the process of opening up. Diagon Alley seemed both different and similar to Uzumaki-do.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons being built outside a shop, with a sign that read _Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self-Stirring – Collapsible_ hanging over them. She passed various apothecaries and a dark shop with a sign declaring it _Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy_.

Another shop specialized in broomsticks, there were shops for robes, for leather works, shops with all sorts of odd telescopes and strange instruments, shops that specialized in odd magic fields, shops that sold all sorts of quills and different ink and parchment and potion bottles and globes of different planes and their moons.

When she saw what had to be the Gringotts building, Riko had again a moment of both similarity and strangeness. It was just as big as the one in Uzumaki-do, towering over the surrounding little shops just the same. But it was snowy-white, the colour of death and bad luck. Well, she knew colours had different meanings in different countries. She even knew white as one of the examples, so it wasn’t all that surprising, but it still looked just.. odd.

Walking in, Riko noticed that aside from the colouring the bank was built almost exactly like the one she had visited in Tokyo. With no customers in front of her, she could quickly draw out a rather big amount of British Wizarding money. She’d looked up their coinage and the counting of twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle and seventeen silver Sickles to a gold Galleon was easy enough. The goblin looked a bit grumpy when she requested he give her one small bag of thirty Galleons and one of hundred-twenty but he didn’t complain.

“We do offer the service of vouchers to our more affluent customers.” He at last remarked with a sour face as he slid the bags over the counter.

“Vouchers?” Riko asked, perplexed. The goblin gave a bitter sigh and looked down his long nose at her, but he did explain.

“Most bigger shops are accredited with us. Take one of our vouchers to them and they will give you a specially worked receipt to sign and authorize with your vault key. At the end of the day they can just show up with all the receipts and get paid out or rather have the money transferred to their accounts.”

He looked right impatient and she was sure if there had been any customers waiting in line he would have waved her on. As it was, Riko gave him a friendly grin and stayed just where she was. “Fantastic. Draw me one of these vouchers, and thank you for your information.”

As he busied himself behind the counter she rolled the bigger sack of Galleons tightly so the coins wouldn’t clink around and dropped it in the empty bag from her pocket, then stowed the smaller bag of Galleons inside her jacket. As she secured the knot of her sash, to make sure it had no way to fall out, the goblin cleared his throat. He handed over the voucher without comment and Riko nodded respectfully as she took it.

Without another word, she left the bank, folding the piece of parchment once and stowing it in one of the more secure inner pockets of her jacket. It felt very odd, to walk around without her pack on her back. She rolled shoulders and looked pensively down the street from the top of the marble stairs of the bank, taking out the list that had arrived with the letter.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Uniform_

_First-year students will require:_

_1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry name tags_

_Set Books_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

_Other Equipment_

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

All the things she had to buy would need to be transported and the linen bag containing most of her withdrawn money was already quite a nuisance. Riko had planned even before coming here that her first purchase would have to be a trunk, and, well, even if the letter hadn’t arrived she’d have hunted for a decent rucksack again, to replace her dearly departed one.

So far she’d walked by one shop that showed stacks of boxes and bags in its window, but it hadn’t opened yet and the merchandise had looked to be more aimed to the hat-box-requiring, colour-code-conscious crowd. Riko set out in the direction she hadn’t visited yet.

When she spotted _Abraxas’ - Pioneer in Safe Luggage for Every Occasion_ , Riko was immediately drawn to it. The window did indeed show every kind of trunk, chest, coffer and backpack imaginable. It was also just opening. Thanking her good luck, she entered the shop, passing a young woman and man constructing a wooden rack by waving their wands at a small heap of boards.

The inside of the shop was definitely bigger than the outside, disorienting Riko momentarily as her senses tried to both adjust and analyse her surroundings. After her first confusion had passed, Riko started wandering around the shop with growing interest.

It was a strange sort of ordered chaos, with backpacks piled on trunks piled on chests piled on other chests piled on coffers and so on. There were clusters of different backpacks and kitbags and other sorts of bags hanging from the ceiling. It was a bit overwhelming, considering she had only the general idea of needing A trunk and A rucksack.

But before she could even start to worry about that, a short, springy witch approached her with a business-like smile and a curious look. “Good morning in this fine shop. Any kind of luggage you need, we’ll either have it or make it to your guaranteed satisfaction!”

Riko smiled at the confident declaration and it’s directness. “Good day to you as well! I do hope you can help me find the right choice then, because I certainly wouldn’t be able to do it myself in here.” The witch accepted the implied compliment gracefully and they started on business immediately.

“I need a trunk that can fit a lot of content but isn’t too bulky. It should be sturdy but not too heavy. Different containers inside would be nice, too.”

The witch was clearly in her element as a salesperson and accepted Riko’s confident approach immediately. Her questions helped Riko clarify what she wanted, and after she’d asked what Riko wanted to spend on her trunk and learned that her customer had a voucher from Gringotts, her eyes lit up with delight.

Riko was a bit worried for a moment. But it seemed the witch was not trying to push any overly fancy and costly features on her with the trunks she presented, so she was likely just glad of a chance to show her more specialized works. In the end, Riko decided on a trunk that was, when standing on it’s small side, almost as big as she was.

Looking much like old steamer trunks she had seen in pictures, it was made of a mesh of wire, paper and rope filaments, reinforced with a wooden skeleton. Far more durable, though, as sturdy salamander hide covered the outside and spell-treated firm, dark linen the inside. Enchanted brass covered the edges that would receive the hardest treatment and would repel and mark anyone who tried to open it without it’s key.

The best thing about it, however, was the lock and it’s magical effect. Depending on how often you turned the key in direct succession it gave access to three different versions of inside. They were all reasonably bigger on the inside and had grooves and slim boards to construct partitions as one wished. Riko was incredibly pleased with it. So was Madam Abraxas, and honest in describing it’s drawbacks, too.

“It’s a rather simple method, really, although of very good make. Relies mostly on stealth, so if someone knows about it, it’s a bit useless. There are some models, that many Aurors favour, that go quite a bit further, both regarding security of the locks and room in the separate folds. But as far as normal civilian needs go, this is a very solid choice, if one isn’t prone to being paranoid.”

Riko gave her a cheerful smile, not paranoid, yup, that was her. “Yes, thank you. It’s mostly so that it doesn’t have one giant inside where everything mixes together and I have to worry about falling in. Now, if you could recommend a good, lightweight rucksack? I would of course appreciate if it had some improved features of your make.”

In the end, the backpack was far quicker found than the trunk. Made of strong, doubled fabric each of it’s pockets was bigger on the inside by a reasonable margin. Other than that it was actually a rather simple, standard sort of rucksack: one big main bag, one smaller pocket sewed to the front, one on each side and a flat pocket inside the main flap.

The only non-standard thing was the small string with which the strength of the weight-lifting charm could be adjusted. That, and the admirable way in which the outer layer of the fabric was waxed, convinced Riko of the purchase. Madam Abraxas’ eyes grew wide when she looked at the voucher and saw which account was to be charged. She was however discreet enough not to pester Riko about it.

Having accepted back the voucher and signed and verified the receipt, Riko realized she’d almost forgotten something. “Excuse me, Madam Abraxas, do you sell any, well, small trolleys, or just a set of small wheels, so I can pull the trunk?”

For a moment, the witch looked thoroughly confused, then apologetic. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, we don’t sell anything like that. Never had a customer request one either. The cobble stones here in the Alley would make it ever so tedious to draw, so no one bothers.”

She was clearly bothered, both by the odd request and the fact she didn’t have what a customer requested. “I could just charm it to float after you today, if you like..”

Riko blinked at the friendly offer and was a bit chagrined that she had to refuse it. “Well, I have to visit Muggle London later today, so that’d be a bit problematic, but thank you anyway..” By that time, the younger employees had re-entered the shop, and overheard them.

“We could just transfigure her a small trolley, auntie, we still got some boards lying round in the back!” The young wizard hadn’t even finished, when the young witch made for the door to the back with a short “On it, be right back!”

Madam Abraxas seemed both pleased at the idea and worried at the same time. “Well, that’s certainly a lovely idea, Phil, but what if runs out while she’s around the muggles?”

The young witch had come back with a few boards and grinned when she heard the last sentence. “No worries, auntie, I got full marks in my Transfig Owl, I think I can handle that.” Then she looked at the trunk intently and started drawing something out on a piece of paper on the counter.

Riko used the time to store her bag in her new rucksack and put it on. Phil had huffed at the boast, but when the witch just ignored him in favour of her drawing, he turned to look over her shoulder. “Hey, isn’t that..?” “Yeah, saw Hilliard with one’a them things, right, got it..”

The young witch arranged the boards to lie parallel to each other, stacking one orthogonal near one end. Then she closed her eyes, pointed her wand at the pile and started mumbling. Riko watched with fascination as the boards seemed to melt into each other and then formed the silvery frame of a small, two-wheeled trolley.

The wand was moving in small, intricate gestures, and at the ends of what had become an axle two rubber-coated wheels started to grow like mushrooms. In less than a minute she was standing in front of a very new and sturdy looking trolley.

“Right then, let’s put the trunk on it and test it!” The witch pushed her wand back in her pocket and deftly strapped the trunk to the trolley’s frame, rolling it around experimentally. It held fast and moved quietly and swiftly, almost but not-quite like it was hovering anyway. “A’right, that should hold at least for a day, so you don’t have ta hurry and worry ’bout it today.” She offered the handle to Riko.

“Fantastic!” Riko grinned. She’d just buried the keys to her new trunk in one of her jacket’s inner pockets and dug into the bag that held her Wizarding money. Now she flipped a Galleon to the young witch. “Thanks. Mind give Phil a share, it was his idea after all.”

Winking at their faces she gave a cheerful wave and rolled her new trunk out into the road. The day was starting out very well, she thought. Taking out the list that had been attached to her Hogwarts letter, she meandered to where she had seen _Madam Malkin_ _s_ _’ Robes for all occasions._ It was by now open but there weren’t any customers inside yet: perfect. The next half hour was a bit tedious, but Riko had already expected this.

The list demanded three sets of plain working robes, and Riko didn’t intend to go against that, really. But neither did she care to run around in what amounted to a right impractical dress for her first year, or any other, at this odd school. It might look cute and not make trouble for Kiki but she was no anime character and liked her trousers and pockets accessible.

Consequently, she had to talk about different cuts and styles and closures with the shop owner, a short, square witch in lavender robes. Madam Malkins seemed hurried even though there was no one else around and she was pushy, constantly emphasizing the nice, clear-cut look of the traditional models. In the end, Riko managed to convince her of a cut that definitely qualified as plain work robes even if, instead of a wide night-shirt, the closest normal relive of her robes would be a man’s yukata or local bath robe.

With a number of pockets sewn in and some hooks that also made it possible to close it without a sash, Riko was quite happy with the result. Too bad zippers were apparently not a wizarding thing. After being very efficiently measured by a tape measure that moved on its own, Riko almost added a few pairs of trousers to her order, then thought better of it.

She’d visit a few other shops that sold clothing first, both muggle and magical. Then she’d perhaps come back and hand Madam Malkins the pair of samue trousers she was currently wearing, and the jacket that went with it, too. That should make perfectly clear what she wanted. After Riko agreed to pay beforehand in cash the witch didn’t mind to have the robes ready in a few hours, and Riko was on her way again.

Having already walked most of Diagon Alley, Riko turned towards Marjin Alley and the narrow alleyways that lead away from it with much curiosity. According to her travel guide, there were many craftsmen, second hand shops and smaller, more specialized shops of different cultural origins to be found there, and she wanted to explore all the possibilities that was bound to afford.

It really was fascinating just to walk around, and not just on account of the shops and stalls. The streets were incredibly bendy and increasingly narrow and often there were walkways between the houses overhead, or the upper storeys of the houses were drawn forward. The narrow slips of sky made it look further away than reasonable and other times the houses had actually merged, so that one was actually walking through a tunnel. They were obviously all quite old and varied greatly in width, hight, depth and style. Their only common factors were their small size, an entertaining oddness, and the enormous and enticing amount of nooks and crannies.

The trip paid off nicely, too. When she sat down at a small street vendor’s stall around noon for some curry, Riko had just put in her trunk a pair of protective dragon hide gloves that had been improved by their previous owner with strong salamander hide on the back of the hand and fingers.

She also had a pair of much finer material. The seller had praised it as spider silk, given away by it’s owner only because they’d outgrown it. The material was certainly elastic and oddly-woven enough to make the first part a believable claim and they had come cheap enough. A few spots at the back of the hand looked sort of burned and she’d want to have a proper look at before using them for any kind of work.

Also resting in her trunk were a set of three pretty pewter/bronze cloak pins and a winter coat of heavy black wool that had faded a bit into blue. Slits in the front and the back up the length of her legs could be closed with hooks and on the inside it sported bands to tie it to the ankles. With the number of pockets, a collar that could be raised against cold winds and small slits in the side to let the wearer slip in their hands, Riko was more than a little pleased at the find, even if it’d need some tailoring to fit properly.

In the compartment beside it lay used copies of the first three and the very last one of the books on her list. The commentary by the previous owners had seemed at least as interesting as the books themselves and they hadn’t cost more than a few Knuts, which had to be less than they’d cost new, and there was no point in wasting money after all.

She’d also found her interest piqued by _Energetic Exploring & The Making of Maps_, by Claudia Cluewell, and _A Basic Overview On The Theories Of Locks And Keys In The Context Of Instrumentalized Magical Means_ , by Laymaster V. Skobeloff. The latter, a dog-eared, grubby thing, had caught her eyes with the faded pattern of keys in it’s cheap fabric cover rather than it’s title, but the content had convinced her of the buy right away.

Despite the title it discussed locks in all relevant detail and then expanded upon that, illustrating all the potential points for charms or wards or others spellwork to be placed. It didn’t seem to teach spells but rather explained, in great detail, all that one would need or use to build them, even including text on different materials and ideas of different runic spheres. In short, it was like seeing a whole new world of possibilities open up, the commentary by the previous owners of those two books was only icing on the cake.

On the way back towards Diagon Alley, Riko found a pretty set of bronze scales that had the beautiful lines and ornaments of an Art Nouveau piece but was missing it’s weights. Looking for them, she instead unearthed a neat, collapsible telescope of the same make. After haggling good-naturedly with the stall owner, Riko ended up also buying a couple of similarly designed ink-pots and glass quills. It reminded her that the list only mentioned the explicit things the students were expected to not own already. She’d also need ink and normal quills and parchment and possibly some notebooks and.. well, a lot of other, implied things.

Having picked up her robes, Riko let Madam Malkins show her the cloaks she sold. Settling on a practical one that closed at the right shoulder and had slits for the arms, she stored everything in her trunk and moved on. She’d passed a number of tailors in Marjin Alley and decided to try them by showing the robes as an example, ordering four more all in all. In the time those tailors wanted to complete her robes, she browsed the nearby stores.

In short order her trunk housed two pointed hats, a very neutral looking, adaptable cloak with a wide hood, a plain scarf of similar make as the cloak, a cauldron as per her list, a replacement slash side project cauldron, two sets of glass phials, and any of the implied things like parchment, quills, etc, Riko could think of. Her rucksack received several packs of common potion ingredients while she visited a couple of different apothecaries that seemed to have a different cultural background each.

It was going on half three when she had collected the newer, far more reasonably priced, robes and made her way to Flourish and Blotts. There was a number of other book shops but Riko was starting to tire and had no desire to visit every single one, which would surely happen if she started to look into even one of them. So instead she settled for wandering into the biggest book shop she had ever seen, leaving the others for her next visits.

Perhaps it didn’t have quite as many books and scrolls as Yahiko’s, but it was a close call, and it definitely had more room for the customers to move about. The shelves were stacked to the ceiling with all sorts of book imaginable, everything from books as large as paving stones and bound in leather to books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books in and on different languages or just full of runes or peculiar symbols and a few books with different kinds of nothing in them, too.

Strolling along after having collected the rest of the books from her list, Riko added a massive tome called _Hogwarts, a History_ to her stack, to hopefully get some idea of what awaited her, and then _Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more)_ by Professor Vindictus Viridian, for the same reason, really.

When she had stowed the books in her trunk and looked at her list again, the only thing still missing was her wand. Riko had seen the occasional wand in shadowy corner shelves of second hand shops, but so far she had seen only one shop that sold them as its main business. She headed for Ollivander’s. The narrow, shabby shop looked less trustworthy than many of the shops down Marjin Alley or its even smaller tributaries. Peeling gold letters over the door read _Ollivander’_ _s_ _: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC_.

Riko eyed the sign dubiously. She doubted the house had indeed been here quite that long, even if it looked old and neglected. But there didn’t seem to be any alternatives. With a sigh she pushed inside, hearing a tinkling bell somewhere in the depths of the tiny, dusty place. It was very uncomfortable. Not so much because it was empty, silent, shabby, and dusty, no, there was a strange sort of miasma in the air that made the hair on her neck stand up.

Similar to the apothecaries, where the smells of the ingredients mixed and formed an odd mixture that was static yet varying by proximity to certain shelves and the occasional breeze. Only here it was particles of different magical energies that drifted around like invisibly small dust motes, making her nose itch and her skin prickle. Having already taken a deep breath of the mix, she did the thing she hoped would get her out of here as fast as possible.

“Good day? Anyone here?” Riko called in her most business-like voice.

One second, two seconds, then suddenly from her left came “Good afternoon,” in a soft voice. Riko jumped, quicktime racing through her blood as she stopped herself from her natural reaction, only turned in the direction. An old man was standing there, his wide, pale eyes shining like cold moons through the gloom of the shop.

They stared at each other for an uncomfortable moment, then Riko nodded in greeting. “Good afternoon. I need a wand.”

Inwardly she rolled her eyes at herself. Of course she wanted a wand, the shop didn’t seem to sell anything else. But hopefully it’d get the odd old man started in selling her one, quickly, so she could leave. Further sneezing threatened but she was creeped out enough, adrenaline just receding, still half in combat-mode, that it seemed a very bad idea to do so now.

Mr Ollivander, at least Riko hoped so, was still eyeing her closely and then he moved even closer. He didn’t blink and his silvery eyes were a bit unsettling, so like and yet unlike Gin-san’s. Riko tried, she really did, but she couldn’t stop it. She sneezed. Loudly. The inside of her nose still itched, but her skin stopped prickling. Apparently she was acclimatizing.

“How curious. You don’t seem to be muggle-born but I can’t quite seem to place you, Miss ..?” He was still looking at her closely and Riko had to resist the urge to take a step back. Instead she raised her chin.

“Slyver.” Her voice was cool and the look she gave him impassive, though she had to breath out strongly through her nose to prevent further sneezing. He seemed perfectly undisturbed, just nodded thoughtfully.

“Ah, yes, let me see. Jack Slyver’s, yes, indeed, you do have quite the resemblance if one discounts the distractions.” It was an odd statement and certainly not courteous. “I still remember him buying his wand here like yesterday. He favoured a yew wand, ten inches long, nice and resilient. Quite powerful and good for charm work. Well, I say your father favoured it – it’s really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course.”

Riko sneezed again. She thought she could hear something snap inside her ears and the itching in her nose lessened, though it didn’t fade completely. Mr Ollivander, because that was the most likely conclusion, nodded as if she’d said something that made perfect sense.

“Humm, yes, let’s see. You seem quite receptive, why, one might actually be able to make a wand of something of you, just for testing, you know, if you are interested...” At her stony glare he caught himself and quickly continued “But really, I think I tested enough in my youth.. now, which is you wand arm?” He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket.

Riko thought a moment. She used both hands for her weapons, seals, writing, and spells, but usually she preferred the left to block and.. “The right, I guess.”

“Hold out you arm. That’s it.” He measured Riko from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said, “Every Ollivander wand has a core of powerful magical substance, Ms Slyver. After much experimenting I only use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and heartstrings of dragons, though less potent conduits from other magical beasts continue to be used by other, less experienced makers.”

Over her sceptical listening and unease Riko appreciated that the tape measure, which was now measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own while Mr Ollivander continued talking and flitted around the shelves, taking down boxes. “No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as none of the magical creatures are ever quite the same. And you will of course never get such good results with another witch’s wand.”

Riko kept silent at that. She thought it a bit overstating the importance of what was simply anther tool to work a certain type of magic. And using only three types of cores, considering how very variable magic in itself tended to be..? Definitely odd, that one. But then, he seemed to be the local main authority and manufacturer of said tool, and he had obviously made it his life’s purpose. It was understandable that he rate the fine points of his trade so utterly important, and there was no point in being rude to him by flaunting her doubts.

“That will do,” he said distractedly as he returned, laden down with slim boxes, and the tape measure crumbled into a heap on the floor. “Right then, try this one, Ms Slyver. Maple and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Rather whippy. Just give it a good wave.”

Riko took the wand and, feeling sceptical, waved it around a bit, but Mr Ollivander snatched it out of her hand almost immediately.

“Willow and unicorn hair. Seven inches. Very bendy. Try -”

Riko tried, but she had hardly raised the wand when it was snatched back by Mr Ollivander.

“No, no, no – here, ebony and phoenix feather. Ten inches, rather springy. Go on, try it out.”

Riko tried and tried, not knowing what exactly Mr Ollivander was waiting for. After at least a dozen other wands Mr Ollivander eyed her critically for a moment, then moved between his shelves again. “What part of the world were you raised in, exactly? You are quite clearly leaning towards dragons, but so far they’re just too heavy it seems..” As he trailed off, Riko realized that the last part was just him mumbling to himself.

She cleared her throat to indicate an upcoming answer to his question. “Asia, roughly. Mostly Japan, but also some extended journeys..”

Even as she said it, Riko wondered, both at herself for going beyond the roughly and him for asking. Surely something like that wouldn’t make as much of a difference..?

She was however to be proven wrong, it seemed, as there was a satisfied “A-ha!” from the shelves that currently hid Mr Ollivanders. He flitted back with three rather dusty boxes, quickly handing her yet another wand.

“Made them for testing when I was just a lad, ah yes, how the time flies, let’s see, beechwood and sky-dragon whisker. Nine and a half inches, nice and flexible...”

This time, as she raised the wand, there was a slight, tingling sensation in her fingers, but Mr Ollivander quickly snatched it back again. “Well, the right direction, here now, this one, same year. Acacia and hair of a sky-dragon. Ten inches, only slightly springy. Quite powerful but tricky, wants a light touch..”, he trailed off.

Riko had taken the wand and felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. The wand seemed to dance merrily in her hand and instinctively she shook it in a tight, quick motion, as if flicking something from it’s tip. And indeed, something flew out: a small cloud of silvery-white motes shot out of it’s tip. The sparks seemed to dance an exuberant jig that reminded her of the last fae celebration she had visited with Eliria-sensei, last midsummers night.

“Oh, brava!” Ollivander’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. “Yes, yes, very good indeed. I think we will have to expect quite some tricks from you, hm, Ms Slyver.”

It was, as with the mention of Da, not a question, just an odd statement and as he put Riko’s wand back in its box and wrapped it in brown paper, he eyed her with entirely too much odd, distant humour in his luminous eyes for her comfort. Moving to extract her bag of galleons from her jacket, to have an excuse to be distracted, Riko saw a row of small pots on a shelf by the door.

But even as she added the wand-polish to her purchase and paid thirteen Galleons, Mr Ollivander kept shooting her smugly amused glances. Riko was happy to leave and hoped very much her assumption was correct and he had only limited social contacts to prevent him from spreading odd stories.

By now the late-afternoon sun hung low in the sky and Riko was glad to drag her trunk on it’s trolley back into muggle London, where it rolled much smoother than on the chaotic cobblestones of the wizard-side alleys. She was so distracted with all the new things she had seen today, she almost forgot to buy a ticket for the tube. When she at last arrived at Errol’s Pub, Riko was quite glad to see the door open even though it was too early, not open yet.

Ilar was sitting on a chair she had dragged outside, basking relaxedly in the sun and occasionally sipping from a bottle of iced tea. When she saw Riko coming up the alley, she waved and greeted her with a cheerful “Heya, traveller, hawareya”.

Taking in the new luggage and Riko’s tired “Hey there, alright, yeah,” with a sort of discreet curiosity, she held up a hand as Riko made to move past her. “C’mere, I’ll be catchin’ me a nice treat of fish’n chips to eat here in the sun. You want in?”

Riko was surprised but pleased all the same. “Sure! I’ll just bring this upstairs. Want me to come along?”

The barkeep threw back the last remains of her iced tea. “Nah, ’nother day mayhaps. Yeh look right done in. When ya’re done puttin’ yer things away, get yerself sumthin’ ter drink from behind the bar. Just mark it up on the list, aright?”

She threw another grin at Riko and then ambled down the alley with a small wave and “Cheers”. Riko huffed a small, tired laugh and then concentrated on dragging her trunk first up the few steps into the pub, then up the three long flights of stairs. She was huffing in earnest when she was done and hurriedly changed after a quick wash.

Arriving downstairs in fresh jinbei shorts and a t-shirt, and with Ilar not back yet, Riko looked around behind the bar. There were indeed five different refrigerators stacked with different ales, beers, ciders, mead, and other drinks. After finding one that held the same iced tea she had seen earlier, Riko cast around for the mentioned list, finding it stuck to the pinboard. There was already a new entry reading R.T. and after marking the right column, Riko relaxed in the seat Ilar had left earlier, content to just wait for dinner.


	4. First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving is a process and one should of course do one’s best to get ready for all that one’s plan is going to entail. Lay of the land and all that.

Riko’s next five weeks were fun and educational, but most of all very busy. Ilar had agreed to let her the room up until the morning of the first of September while they’d cheerfully munched through their first shared meal of fish and chips. This meant having a secure base and allowed Riko to make smaller, less suspicious shopping forays into both muggle London and Diagon Alley in the next few days.

Beside using the chance to improve her English by immersing herself in native speakers she acquired among other small purchases a set of wheels that could be tied to her trunk, a small mix of muggle clothing, a mix of clothes made to her own taste by the tailor shops near Marjin and Sartor Alley and many a quick meal, school supply, or trinket.

Like Riko, Korra spent the first days in London enjoying the exciting new environment and exploring. Then she was dispatched to carry a reply to Deputy headmistress McGonagall as demanded in the letter. In it, Riko also requested permission to bring the raven as her pet, in lieu of an owl.

But mostly she used the first few days to finish her English lingua loquendi and start in on her books. Well, she did the first and hit problems with the second. Simply reading through them invariably led to either a lot of questions or mounting incomprehension followed by mind-numbing boredom.

There was so incredibly much to learn it was almost a bit intimidating. Still, she had lots of time yet and the later chapters of the lingua loquendi called for extended amounts of time spent immersed in the language. It gave her the perfect excuse to roam about and get to know the city. The roof landscape was decidedly different – far fewer lines for one, though fun all the same – and really required proper study, the lay of the land itself, the physical corners as much as the people and, more directly, the kids who made the streets their home.

The mood was busy, as usual with big cities, but also carried grim undertones of internal conflicts and poverty spreading right beside the rich enjoying their spoils. On a singular base, though, that was easy to evade. It was really true for anywhere in the world, if you wanted to hang out and be friendly, just stay cool and know when to offer a smoke. Or, as Eliria-sensei liked to put it, know when to not take any shite and when to take it easy and be humorous. And of course when to companionably offer a smoke.

There were lots of places to chose from and alternate between, which was a good thing with how uptight some people reacted to a bunch of kids hanging out, just skate boarding a little or smoking peacefully. Honestly, some people, it really was their own fault if they ended up with this or that missing, or whatever else mischief just offered itself at the time.

When she wasn’t out and about, Riko liked to lurk in the pub in the evenings, and that was always interesting, too. There were indeed a number of humanly glamoured fae customers that qualified as regulars and even when they weren’t around the pub’s clientèle was prone to revelry and light-heartedness.

Near every day live, fast-paced music, played from the balcony, set people of all ages to sing, jump and dance in a way that would have to be called exuberant rather than dignified. It was certainly always entertaining and surely added to the good fortune of the pub itself. But still the problem with the books remained.

Many of the assumed magical basics were foreign and the structure of the incantations seemed to make little sense. Quickly Riko came to realize that the local magical traditions were rooted in or rather around Latin, a language she had little knowledge about beyond the fact that the old Romans had spoken it.

Never one to back down from the challenge of understanding something she first visited the library in Diagon Alley. Deciding on a less-is-more approach, Riko gave herself leave to only skim over whatever seemed boring. Going through her books with this in mind, anything that picked her interest was put on a parchment, her list of things to research.

It was the most astounding thing that there was hardly anyone but her in the library, this was after all the Main Library of Magic, said so right over the entrance, and it was central enough, really, not far off Gringotts. Guarding the incredible amount of books and scrolls were numerous groups of Library Elves: small wizened looking creatures with bright, bulging eyes and long, dried up ears.

After some hanging around and being very courteous, Riko learned that traditionally during summer the Library Elves were left almost entirely to themselves. There were hardly any customers and thus the few human employees took their leave. And while the elves enjoyed the opportunity to order and handle everything without interruption, by August they were glad for an interested customer.

Riko took full advantage of this, visiting with her list of subjects and enjoying the helpful attention of numerous excellent librarians, making a point of being very interested and reading through anything the elves recommended. She usually ended up taking more notes than she would have though possible, something that might have to do with getting sidetracked by all the fascinating offerings of her personal librarians.

But after a few days of and stumbling again and again over her lack of cultural basics, by the end of July she’d decided to get a solid grounding by learning Latin. It couldn’t be that hard, after all English had been a breeze. So Riko set out on the morning of the last of July with a list of books. The Library Elves were always very helpful, and glad to recommend, and she had decided the books referenced most often would make a good investment, too.

On the way to the Leaky Cauldron she ran into a small group of local muggle kids she already knew and got sucked into hanging out, offered use of someone’s skateboard and all that. Beside being fun and strengthening her English it also had the advantage of learning where to tread, where to rest, and who and what to avoid in this town.

It also settled the question if Faceless World was better than Timebomb, though not the one who was better at nicking CDs, as neither Riko nor Jess got caught. Tom had bought batteries as cover and Riko gifted him her loot (Faceless World), as he’d offered them the means to play both on his jukebox and it’d leave him with a favour owed, too.

Noon wasn’t far off when she at last entered Diagon Alley, first heading for Gringotts. She wanted to pay Ilar the rest of the rent for her room sooner rather than later, after all. Riko was on her way out of the bank when a goblin hurried after her, calling out to her.

“Pardon me, Ms Slyver.” he bowed quickly when she turned to wait for him, stepping out of the way of a tall, fair-haired wizard whose fine blue robes identified him as quite wealthy. “You account manager wants to speak to you about something. If you’ll follow me.”

Riko nodded a neutral “Certainly,” and trailed him to the side of the big hall, where he bowed her into a narrow, previously hidden entryway. Inside a luxuriously sparsely furnished bureau was indeed Fhuuzhako, already sitting at a round table.

“Good day, Ms Slyver. Take a seat, I do not intend to keep you long.” The goblin nodded at her and Riko sat on the other small chair. The table was lower as well and Riko wondered absently if this office was usually used for goblin-goblin deals.

“This is about the Slyver family account. When a person goes missing, potential beneficiaries can make a case to declare that person dead.” Fhuuzhako gave Riko a serious look, sliding a file of papers in the middle of the table.

“I received such a proposal every year, after Mr Slyver took to travelling. It was easy to refuse, he regularly used the account, and even the Slyver family knew better than to try and pry into our customer confidentiality.”

The goblin gave a short, sharp-toothed grin. “Or rather, especially they.” As Fhuuzhako shook her head and continued with her explanations Riko thought she could see a spark of something like glee growing in the goblin’s eyes. “However, since ’87 no one has heard from them, nor the bank received any contact. This presents an opportunity that I think I need not explain further.”

Riko could _see_ the satisfaction this turn of events gave her account manager and she couldn’t help but give a sharp smile in return. Tried to usurp his account, had they? Well, it hadn’t done them any good in the end.

“I understand,” she nodded, “But usually there needs to pass a bit more time before missing people can be declared dead, right? I mean, my father left here in the 70ies, so that was a better bet for them.”

Riko was determined to be careful about this. On the one hand it sounded simply brilliant. On the other hand, she rather doubted it would work without making big news, and she didn’t think she had a good enough standing yet to weather the problems that could result from it.

“Correct, although it didn’t stop them from starting with their proposals the year he took his leave. The timeframe can vary, if other factors can help determine the fate of the missing personage.”

As Fhuuzhako gave her a frank look, Riko felt cold lead form in her stomach. She had to handle this carefully. She didn’t want to snub either Fhuuzhako or her plan, but she didn’t want to tell her.. everything, either.

“Well, it’s a great chance, but I think it will have to wait for a bit.” Riko looked into Fhuuzhako’s eyes, giving her the same frank look back as she continued.

“I mentioned that my father has some obligations for the next years. They’re.. part of a deal, and they actively prevent him from visiting this plane. This makes my situation somewhat precarious, after all he is my legal guardian. For him to be unreachable is a weakness that could be exploited, were I to catch the attention of certain opportunistic parties.”

She took a deep breath before continuing calmly. So far Fhuuzhako was eyeing her sharply but she was still listening and seemed to accept her reasoning.

“I think the earliest time for this plan to be workable will be when I come of age in about six years. I..” Riko sighed, then she raised her chin and finished, “I don’t exactly know, when he’ll get back. It might be earlier, but I suspect it will be a few years after I come of age.”

Fhuuzhako sighed, a sound that was quite incongruous with her severe look, then she nodded. “I understand your position. I will keep this in my drawer, then. Can I assume you would be able to supply something beside time to such a proposal, whenever it might be submitted?”

Riko felt a fuzzy warmth eating away the cold lead in her stomach and gave the goblin a thankful grin for her tactful question. Her hope to hear of his family’s demise showed just how much the account manager.. well, liked her father.

“Yes, I can give testimony that there is indeed nothing left of them.”

Riko still felt a vicious satisfaction at the memory, even knowing what had followed it, and she allowed it to show. Fhuuzhako seemed to draw some satisfaction from her words as well, giving a respectful nod. The goblin ordered the papers she had brought and rose.

“This concludes our current business, just ask for me if you require my services.” With that, she gave another nod and escorted Riko to the from-here-visible door, holding it open and closing it after her.

Riko felt drained, just a bit, and mused absently if Fhuuzhako still had something to do in the office or if she’d leave another way and if so how. She hadn’t noticed any (further) hidden doors (not that she’d had the opportunity to search) and as she turned and moved to leave the bank she wondered what kind of magic goblins used for this sort of thing and how one might find out.

She should have paid more to attention, however, because after a few steps she bumped straight into someone. Looking up, Riko recognized the well-dressed wizard, or rather his luxurious robes, she had seen earlier, when the man had been walking inside.

“Please excuse me,” she nodded and moved to continue on her way. She did not expect him to step into her path with the fluid hauteur of a courtier.

“No, please excuse _me_ , Ms Slyver,” he said, eyeing her intently with cold, light grey eyes and offering her a small nod as he introduced himself, “I hadn’t noticed how preoccupied you were. Lucius Malfoy, pleased to meet you at last.”

His pleasant smile was quite the accomplished mask, Riko noted as adrenaline coursed through her, setting her into instant combat mode and quicktime. There was mostly curiosity behind it right now, in that smooth visage of his, but the cold edges of the man would have been hard to miss even without her.. slightly colourful history.

Despite the very different colouring, he had pale skin and his equally pale, long hair was tied back in the nape of his neck, he reminded her strongly of one of the oyabun Eliria had negotiated with on Okinawa. Highly intelligent, sharp instincts in how to best deal with people to get what he wanted, and utterly ruthless, bound only by his own personal code.

At the same time this assessment sprang up in her head, Riko dug ruthlessly through her own mind to find any reference to his familiar-sounding name. He was courteous enough to introduce himself and as he currently held her no ill will she considered the situation salvageable if she played it right.

Blinking quickly to show her confusion, Riko at last remembered something about the name. “Ah, please forgive me. I remember now, you are my spellfather, correct? My father told me a few stories when I was smaller, but it’s been a while since he liked to talk about Britain. I am likewise pleased to meet you.”

She gave the man an apologetic smile and respectfully nodded in greeting. He obviously already knew her family name and she didn’t feel comfortable inviting him to call her any of her given names as yet. If he indeed knew them. He might simply have overheard the goblin earlier and decided to try and scam her, not like she’d know.

He seemed to notice her wariness despite her polite answer and gave her a short, sharp smile and a nod. “I have a number of appointments and errands today but I do have some time to spare right now. If you are free to accept, I’d like to invite you to one of the nearby cafés, give us the chance to get to know each other at last.”

His pleasant smile and courteous words were a work of art, amusement and curiosity subtly warming his tone. It was easy to see he was used to making people forget his sharp edges with fairspoken displays of cordiality. Despite the obvious dangers Riko’s own curiosity and amusement rose up and she enjoyed the familiar feel of a thrilling challenge, a shiny, entertaining opportunity.

“Certainly, that sounds like a great idea. I have some free time before I have to get back to my own business.” She gave him one of her best delighted smiles and motioned for him to lead the way. _Let’s play_ , a little voice in her head laughed for a moment, then clad itself in silvery armour for the upcoming match.

As they walked down the marble stairs in the bright sun, trading pleasantries about the weather, Riko saw a few people nod respectfully towards the wizard beside her. It both reassured her as to his credibility and increased the urgency of her search for any memories of what her father had told her about her spellfather.

She recalled that the Malfoys were a rather stuffy pureblood family, which implied both power and money, but supposedly Lucius Malfoy knew, or had known, how to have fun and was an alright fellow. But beside a few humorous stories Da had told her Riko knew absolutely nothing about either the man or the state of his family, or even what went on in this society she would soon been seen as a member of.

How stupid of her! She should have anticipated meeting him sooner or later. As a matter of fact, she should have researched the goings-on here regardless of the existence of her spellfather. Which she should have thought of, too, and integrated in her plans! She resolved to correct this mistake as soon as possible.

Certainly the Library also held old copies of the local newspaper, and it might be a good idea to start buying it regularly, too. Especially given the situation she was in, Riko couldn’t afford to be blindsided by any social developments.

Bad enough, however exciting, that she had to deal with this now completely unprepared. On the other hand, she felt confident she’d be able to handle this so there was no reason and certainly no point to worry overmuch. She’d just make sure to stay alert and enjoy the ride.

The café _Lorraine_ they entered was rather obvious about it’s exclusiveness: the building itself was removed a good distance from the road, the tables standing outside separated from the walkers-by by means of pretty, ornamental screens decorated with apparently-charmed Oleander. Riko was glad she wore one of her new, well-tailored samue-suits in dark green.

This increased when the proprietor of the café hurried out from behind the counter to greet ‘Lord Malfoy, what a pleasure,’ etcetera. With a respectful nod and curious gaze at Riko the slight, wiry man lead them to a table in the corner of the terrace, his enormous black moustache dancing with the pleasantries he directed their way. When asked what they’d like to order Lord Malfoy already knew what he wanted, obviously a regular.

“A cup of tea and a piece of your mille-feuille, if you please.” Then he nodded in her direction, indicating she could order as she wished. Well. It was courteous as well as obviously something of a test. Riko smiled pleasantly at the owner of the café.

“Sencha, if you have it, and a few Madeleines. Do you have any with Cardamom and perhaps orange or lemon in the icing?”

“Ah, yes, of course, they are forever a favourite, if one has tasted them once, aren’t they? I will bring everything in a few minutes.” The little man gushed, bowed, and hastened away.

Riko had to work hard to stifle a satisfied smirk. Yes, she’d thrown a good quick look at their display under quicktime and could have tried for one of the pretty cakes, but the madeleines by the counter had made it an easy decision. Madeleines with cardamom and citrus dressing were her only contact with French cuisine she was aware of, and Eliria had only given her one of the treats when a friend had gifted her with a small pack of them over Yule.

Lord Malfoy, top of his line then, was eyeing her with interest, obviously filing everything away, trying to learn and deduce as much about her as he could. But he was very polite and entertaining about it so Riko couldn’t honestly mind it much as she was doing the same. It was clear she’d have to give him something to know about her, just how much or little remained to be seen, and she was curios herself, besides.

“Have you visited France before? You made a quick friend of Monsier Clué there.”

His smile showed some real amusement now. He was starting to enjoy the game just like she did, and Riko chalked one success on her internal till. It could only help, to be regarded as less of a sum of clues and more of a person.

“No, sadly. I’m sure it’d be very interesting, although I’d rather learn the language first.”

For a moment she considered asking him something to the same effect. But there was too much she didn’t know and she didn’t want to give herself away by asking stupid questions. There was some link to France regarding the Malfoy family, she thought, but she was unable to recall any details or facts. But then, where was the fun without without risk?

“Da’s told me some great stories of good times, in old Alesia and the like..” She gave him a small smile, starting to feel wistful.

His gaze sharpened and for a moment she worried he had seen it and would question her on it. But instead she could watch his smile grew just a little tighter as he drawled “Ah, yes, good old Jack. I’d have expected him to visit when he decided to return to this dreary old isle...”

Well, she’d almost asked for that, hadn’t she? With a small sigh, Riko gave him a light shrug and answered pleasantly, if a bit subdued. “Well, he hasn’t, returned that is, so I suppose you’ll see your expectations met at some later time.”

The shrewd gaze this brought on had her blink at the undisguised scrutiny he gave her, leaning back in his seat. When he spoke, his voice was polite and soft, yet it gave Riko a very clear image of his ability to wield all the right words possible in a situation like so many different knives. It was chilling, even through the thrill that was carrying her onwards. This man was not someone to make an enemy of.

“In that case, I do have to wonder, that he wouldn’t notify me. After all, I am your spellfather. If not me, who better to take you in and introduce you properly to society, as it is?”

Oh, great. Smartly done, Riko, she thought. Now would’ve been a great time for their food to arrive, but of course that would have been too easy. The effort to casually lean back in her own chair was inhuman, and Riko feared she’d later pay for it with cramps in her shoulders.

Lord Malfoy’s eyes were raking her now, clinically cutting to all the differences from her father. Quite likely he was wondering if she was a fake, only the fact that no goblin of Gringotts could ever be accused of being fooled in such a way stopping him from escalating the whole mess.

Throwing on the best of her Slyver-charm as watched and admired (and _missed_ ) on her father ever since, she gave another small shrug and a slightly embarrassed, apologetic smile.

“I’d guess he felt it wasn’t fair on you to just drop me in your lap out of the blue. I mean, you haven’t heard from either him or me in years, and hardly before that, right?”

Seeing no protest, Riko congratulated herself for the bet she’d just won against herself. Moulding her smile to become more amused, the rush of the small triumph helped to let true mischief shine out of her eyes as she continued. “For all you knew we were long dead. And for all he knew, you thought we were long dead and became someone else’s spellfather. Not that he said anything like that, mind, but I can speculate.”

The playful sparkle in her eye cost her every last of ounce of esprit and stored internal laughter she thought she possessed, but the knowledge she was gaining ground helped greatly. It was relieving to continue onto safer ground while watching his edges fade back into thoughtfulness.

“As it is, I’m set up in a discreet little place, whiling away the time until September and being tutored on the upcoming subjects. A lot of it is still foreign to me, and I did just get my wand so I hope I can get to a good starting level before school starts up.”

Raising her hands in another shrug, Riko felt that most of the tension on the table had evaporated. And, oh look at that, Monsier Clué approached them with a laden tablet. Having accepted their respective dishes and thanked the maître’d, they leaned back again when he departed, eyeing each other neutrally for a moment.

Then, delicately adding cream to his tea, Lord Malfoy commented evenly. “While it is quite in character for him to do just that, I can reassure you. When a Malfoy gives his word or assumes an obligation, he stands by it.” He proudly raised an eyebrow at her as he said it, and Riko realized she had just learned a central part of his personal code.

Continuing, he quirked a sly little smile. “This level of discretion wouldn’t have anything to do with the disappearance of the rest of the Slyvers some four years ago, would it?”

He blandly smiled at her as he proceeded to stir sugar in his tea while Riko admired his plunge into directness. Like so many different knives, indeed. Adding some lime to her own tea and stirring it contemplatively, Riko smirked almost lazily before answering.

“Well, that particular matter was solved as soon as it arose, as a matter of fact. But, and this is just my guess again, but I think he was rather tired of the overall state of affairs by then. It had drawn in some wider circles and since our estate was rather battered there was little reason to stay. We’d wanted to visit Ma’s family anyway and one thing just lead to another.”

They both sipped their tea and Riko could see him catalogue everything she had and hadn’t said. Of course the next question came from a completely different angle.

“Where does your mother hail from, if I may ask? She seems to have had a rather striking effect on the traditional Slyver design.” He smiled drolly at her and she couldn’t help being infected with his improving mood.

“Japan, for the longest while, though originally she’s not from this plane.”

“Oh. Is she of the fae, then?”

Riko really had to hand it to him, he was definitely impressive. And knowledgeable. She wondered about his connections and if Errol’s would still be safe after this, but had to postpone this worry, with this match still on. Smiling lightly she lifted the hair above her ears out of the way to show their normal, round form.

“No, the plane of her family is a bit more remote. As far as I know there are only two areas on this plane where one can access it via a summoned portal, and it is a world much less, hm, tamed or temperate. It presents great opportunities to the adventurous, however.”

Riko was quite proud of her description and the familiar anticipation that accompanied it. Despite her brilliant, fantastic plans for her life in this world she looked forward to when she could visit there again. She thought about mentioning Dark Schneider, to see if Lord Malfoy knew about those legends as well, but caution won out.

“I see. So you relocated there?” He really wanted to nail her down, it seemed.

“We visited for a while,” Riko hedged, which was after all literally true. She didn’t want to have lied to this man, even if she thought she had a rather good grip on her tells. Picking her words with the greatest care possible under quicktime, she continued

“But, true to form, the two of them started on their next great adventure on yet another plane.” Riko rolled her eyes but she had to spin this tale convincingly after all. “Way to dangerous for me to come along and whatnot. Ma was real serious about me being safe and all.”

With a shrug she aimed for laconic and then reached for one of her Madeleines. “I had some really great teachers since, so next time I won’t just let them head off on their own again. Uncle Kal’s with me on that, which is a bonus. But it won’t be all that long till I see them again and as I haven’t seen much of them in the last few years anyway, this here won’t be such a big difference.”

She nibbled on the small cake, letting her temper even out. It had taken a somewhat negative turn with the last few sentences, and she hoped she hadn’t been as transparent as she feared. Damn it all, he was fantastic at letting her dig herself in. Instead of commenting, he simply forked into his own small cake, watching her thoughtfully and drinking his tea.

Going over her last words and recalling what little she knew of Da’s childhood, Riko felt she had to set something straight. Squaring her jaw she cleared her throat and looked in the direction of the café’s entrance.

“Not to give you the wrong impression, it’s not like he turned into his old man or anything. I do miss them, and I have it on good authority they miss me too.” A wry chuckle snaked after that diagnosis. Yes, she was damn sure of that, whether they were wandering through some version of the underworld or already reincarnated, just unaware of themselves for a while.

“Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.” Riko grinned, “cheesy as it sounds. So, as I said, I won’t have problems on that front. Now I’ll just have to get up to speed on the basics of my school subjects, and with the coaching that won’t be a problem either.”

She finished with an easy shrug, by now relaxed enough that no tension interfered. The look he gave her was thoughtful, but he didn’t comment or object. Having closed the subject as far as she was concerned, Riko finished her Madeleine in content silence, occasionally using the cover of her hair or lashes to covertly throw a more discerning look at Lord Malfoy.

But mostly she enjoyed the pleasant setting. Nothing better to get questionable company worked up than someone enjoying themselves, usually, so it was a nice test. And if the company decided to be agreeable, well, all the better. There really was no downside to having a good time, as long as one stayed alert and there could be no doubt about that, here.

They finished their tea in little time, talking about nothing of consequence and avoiding the subject of families. He recounted a few humorous stories of the time her father and he had been students and she used her limited recollections to occasionally contribute. It seemed Lord Malfoy was satisfied with whatever he had learned from their little talk.

When they rose, he simply put the money on the table, mentioning he still had to get some books from Flourish and Blotts. Riko had no desire to enter the shop with him. She’d finished this challenge to her satisfaction and wanted some time to really, properly relax, not to mention research and obsess over every word and angle. She offered to accompany him on the way as the building was en route to the Leaky Cauldron, implying she had to get back to studying, which was both generally and literally true, like everything else she’d said to him.

Riko was glad to entertain him with a little anecdote about Da beating an ogre in a drinking match with wits and sleight of hand, just to make sure he didn’t start asking questions again. They were strolling along the shop’s big windows when someone hurried out and stumbled on the cobbles, headlong into Lord Malfoy. No one fell down, luckily, but the book the man had been clutching bounced away on the stones.

As the other hurriedly picked it up, Riko curiously eyed both Lord Malfoy’s cold, angry look and the pale young man in his nondescript clothing. He was radiating nervousness, bowing repeatedly while walking crablike to the book, as if he didn’t dare to show his back to them. He was also babbling hurried apologies, without even looking into whom he had run.

It was so odd it was almost comical. When he looked up at last, his mouth fell open and he had the look of a trapped animal. At least he was quiet now, Riko thought.

“Quirrell, what has you stumbling about here like a drugged mooncalf?” Lord Malfoy drawled with obvious distaste. “A book on Vampires? Shouldn’t you know all about them by now, hm?”

His smile was cutting, and Riko grew curious. They obviously knew each other, so who was the odd young man and what of his connection to vampires? Noticing her questioning look, Lord Malfoy turned to her and explained with a short nod in the direction of Quirrell.

“He applied to teach Defence against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts this year, and I am on the Governing Board of the school.” Riko noted with interest, that he didn’t introduce her. Was he following her wish to be discreet or didn’t he want to be associated with her? Or was there some other reason?

He had also stated only the barest potential reason for him to know Quirrell and was watching her as if waiting for something. Riko decided to turn the table for this, eyeing him back expectedly and tilting her head slightly, encouraging him to continue if he so wished. It awarded her a sharp smile that was gone in a moment, as Lord Malfoy turned back to Quirrell.

“But really, where are my manners. Quirrell, this is Ms Kaminariko Slyver, my spellchild. She’ll be starting this year as well.”

Alright, so he did know her name. Meanwhile Quirrell, Riko was wondering if it was his family or his given name, was still unable to produce a coherent sentence.

“S-s-s-so p-p-p-p-leased to m-m-m-.. I m-m-m-mean, that is, Ll-l-l-lord M-m-m-alfoy..,” he stammered, bowing again and looking unsure if he wanted to offer his hand to her or keep his book clutched to his chest like a stuffed animal.

Lord Malfoy gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes in Riko’s direction.

“Honestly, Quirrell, what in Merlin’s name is wrong with you? I’ll hardly murder you on the street after I helped you get the job at Hogwarts.” The icy contempt in Lord Malfoys drawl was palpable and made Quirrell twitch anxiously. Then he at last seemed to gather himself, at least his posture straightened, no, stiffened.

“No, of course you wouldn’t.” His voice was cool and inflected now, and Riko felt the fine hair on her neck and arms raise. As Quirrell continued talking something lightly prickled inside her nose almost like the miasma in Mr Ollivanders’ shop, only even less pleasant. “It’s really a good thing you were cleared after the whole mess with You-Know-Who. It would have been terrible if you’d been persecuted after obviously being forced to do it.”

If Lord Malfoy had been unpleasant before, now he was livid with rage. Though he kept his temper admirably, Riko could almost see the fury pouring off him in waves, the air suddenly loaded with magic. His left arm twitched, at first she thought he was going to draw a knife or wand, but it actually looked more like drawing a hurt limb closer to the body. His voice was quiet and even, but the deadly undertone was impossible to miss.

“It was clear to the Wizengamot that I, like all of my family before me, had only ever been doing my best to serve and protect our great society.” As he dropped the chill words from his mouth, his eyes were spearing Quirrell like silver daggers. If looks could kill, the young man would have dropped dead immediately. As it was, he gulped visibly and blanched until he almost looked dead.

“Y-y-y-yes, of course. P-p-p-please do excuse me.” He hastily cleared his throat, clutching the book even closer to his chest. “I d-d-d-do have some other er-r-r-rants t-t-t-to run to.” Then he quickly turned tail and hurried off without a look back, his shabby, slightly too large hat swinging with each step until he readjusted it on his tousled mess of hair.

Lord Malfoy gathered his temper quickly, burying his rage under a pleasant manner. “I apologize you had to meet a future professor like that. I do hope I didn’t make a mistake in agreeing to his appointment. He presented a good offer at the time, but if he’s becoming unstable...” He shook his head in a distracted, commiserating way that was impressive in its manufactured sincerity.

“He was always rather clever and good with theoretical matters, typical Ravenclaw really, but then he wanted to gather some first hand experience. From what I heard he stepped on the toes of some vampires in the Black Forest and after that he’s been something of a wreck.” He gave an elaborate shrug. “Do let me know if he steps out of line at the school, please. I have a responsibility to the students after all.”

Then he drew her a courteous bow. “It seems we part company here, my dear. I wish you a pleasant time, both here and in Hogwarts. Please do let me know if you need anything from me. I’d be very glad to be of assistance, or just invite you to the Manor.”

Riko bowed back respectfully. “Thank you very much, I’ll keep it in mind. It was a pleasure getting to know you a little.”

Her mood was back to it’s usual mix of entertainment at the world and interest in anything and everything that might present yet more entertainment. She gave him one of her most pleasant Slyver-grins and then ambled towards the Leaky Cauldron at an easy pace, pointedly not looking back once. There might have been a bit more of a spring in her step than usual, from glee and pride.

As soon as she was on the muggle side, Riko obscured herself and went back in through the propped-open door. The few customers were huddled around the bar, talking excitedly, so she probably wouldn’t have been noticed anyway, but she didn’t want to risk it.

Taking care to avoid the many people bustling about the street by now, she headed for Flourish and Blotts. As she came within sight of the big store, Riko saw Lord Malfoy’s easily recognizable figure exit. Well, that was fast, and lucky for her. She wondered if some clerk had realized in just what a foul mood the wizard had been and decided to give him preferential treatment, or if it was something Lord Malfoy was usually afforded.

Either way, it meant Riko could quickly buy her books and then sneak out of Diagon Alley. She’d actually meant to explore more of the back alleys and alleyways, but she didn’t want to chance running into her spellfather again today. Having entered the shop unnoticed, Riko headed in the direction of the shelves that held the reference books she was looking for.

They were practically deserted, dust motes glowing in the air in a way that reminded more of a closed library than a bustling book shop. With a growing stack of books in her left and the list in her right hand, Riko continued silently on towards the shelves that held all things related to Latin. They were close by and seemed to be equally little in demand, leading Riko to wonder if the shop automatically moved the less-often-visited shelves to the back.

Walking past all sorts of dusty tomes, looking for when the titles would start with ‘li’, she marvelled just how many books were actually written in the supposedly dead language. She’d certainly need some, later, when she reached the later chapters of the lingua loquendi, but considering the dust and lack of potential buyers here, she thought it quite odd there were so many of them. Riko had just added the thick, wrapped lingua loquendi to her stack, when a voice startled her so badly she almost sent the books flying.

“You won’t be able to just buy that one, unless you have someone along who’s of age and referenced.”

She turned slowly and carefully looked in the direction, both intrigued and a little worried the surprise hadn’t triggered her combat-sense. Especially when she saw the speaker.

“Why’s that?” she asked carefully, only now making out the figure of a girl that seemed just a little older than her. She was mostly hidden in the shadowy corner of two shelves, smartly dressed in what looked to Riko like a wizarding equivalent to a 1920ies three piece suit.

“Heh. If anyone could just buy a lingua loquendi the private tutors for languages would be obsolete and being able to speak more than one language wouldn’t be special any more. Can’t have that, so in our great society of British values, we have laws against that sort of thing.”

The girl leaned further into view against a shelf in a carefully relaxed way, folding her arms, and Riko was impressed. The pose was well-constructed in its display of casual disinterest, but she could see an underlying tension that told her the girl was ready to react to anything at a moments notice. Her voice was a cultured drawl that easily transported her distaste of the described situation.

Riko’s curiosity raised it’s many heads, intrigued by the distinct character of this interesting new person. Instead of answering, Riko she tilted her head a bit, hoping to draw out more information of her not-quite-ambusher. Instead the girl drew up an eyebrow and switched subject, clearly not interested in giving out information for free.

“That was quite impressive, hiding in plain sight like that.” Now the girl was trying the same trick Riko had just attempted to use, just letting the silence stretch to draw out the other party. Riko grinned, leaning back against the shelf as well, though the books she still carried prevented her from completely copying the other’s pose.

“Ta. Breaks as soon as one draws attention to oneself, though, as just demonstrated.”

“Still, dead useful, I’d say.” Tilting her head slightly, the girl gave a very small sigh before continuing. “Over the channel they have better sense than to try and ban independent learning of languages... or other things.”

Her impassive face showed just for a moment an expression of annoyance at being seemingly on the wrong side of the channel. As Riko watched, the girl’s eyes occasionally cut down the isle in both directions. It seemed she had come here to hide rather than find some books. Judging that this entertaining conversation likely didn’t have a big time frame, Riko made a spontaneous decision.

She set down the books and with casual slowness, so as not to startle the other girl who was warily watching her, and slid some of her Solitary Pounds from her sleeve. Billie had asked her on it first, and made a good case of it, and it wasn’t that hard to imprint the Obscurantis in the mixed-metal coins, even if it took time and the activation could still be improved upon. Made for good bargaining chips anyway, which had her happy to make them.

“Just tap them with your wand while you’re unobserved. And you’ll have to focus on being not-there, and not be watched of course, and remember to not draw any kind of attention to yourself, yeah? They’re just one-use, though.” Riko smiled apologetically.

She understood very well the desire to be unobserved and it annoyed her that she didn’t have the time to teach the trick to the girl, or the skill to Billie, or Rose for that matter. From the tense, drawn lines of her expression and her alert pose, this girl didn’t get much time to herself, either.

Seeing how she seemed quite alright, Riko thought it the least she could do to give her a bit of peaceful time. She hadn’t just given Riko good information, she’d saved her from quite a blunder, so really, it was only fair. The girl didn’t seem to follow the same train of thought, however, she just looked confusedly at Riko’s outstretched hand.

“They’ll keep active for at least a month, go on.” Riko said quietly, carefully moving closer and when the girl hesitantly released her pose, her arms falling to her side, pressed the coins in her hand before cheerfully, though still quietly, continuing. “Talking here is likely to draw anyone looking for you, so you’d better move. You’re local, though, right, so I guess I’ll see you at Hogwarts?”

A slight nod, along with a look that conveyed both wariness and confusion was the only answer, but Riko wasn’t fazed. “Fantastic, off you go then.” She looked in the direction she’d come from, faintly hearing steps coming their way. Having gestured in the other direction for her companion’s benefit, Riko turned back and put the lingua loquendi back in it’s place.

Expecting the girl to have moved on, she commented to herself, intending to provide a false lead to anyone searching. “Off to France then, I guess. Not that I know any French, but it can’t be that hard to buy a book.” With a small sigh she bent to pick up her stack of books. Her simple errand for today had been quite thoroughly derailed, that was for sure.

“Je voudrais acheter un lingua loquendi pour Latin,” came a quiet voice from the shadows. Riko saw some faint movement in the direction she had indicated to the girl, a small figure turning the corner of the isle. Huffing a small laugh, she turned and went back to the bustle at the counter, past a skulking, suspicious looking older boy who was dressed in a way that was now familiar. Riko didn’t spare him a second glance as she passed him by.

Having paid for her purchases and stored them in her rucksack, she thought about her next move. She still wanted a Latin lingua loquendi, but did she really want to find a way to France for that? She’d after all first have to find out where in France wizarding goods were sold, how to get there and what not. With a frown, Riko moved out of the way of the bustling shoppers and obscured herself again.

She spent a pleasant afternoon up on a roof opposite the shop, after her grim analysis of anything Lord Malfoy might now know or think of her. That took a while but afterwards, alternating between people-watching, planning, nibbling a sandwich, the occasional smoke, and skimming through her new books, let her worries settle. A few interesting-sounding ones in or on Latin had sneaked onto her stack and she’d had to adjust the string that regulated the weight-lifting charm on her rucksack.

When the hustle in the street died down and the shops were slowly starting to close, Riko obscured first her pack, then herself, and sneaked back into Flourish and Blotts. She walked up the side of one of the shelves and waited until everyone was gone, the whispy, soft-spoken owner leaving last after emptying the cash register and leaving it open.

Riko waited another half hour before sneaking to get the lingua loquendi, storing it in her jacket. Having put a sufficient amount of money in the register, she made sure her cowl and mask were in place. She’d glamoured her clothes to look utterly nondescript as well, to cover for the unlikely case of someone seeing her. Just in case.

Then Riko concentrated again and formed another seal with her right hand, slipping first into quicktime and then into the shadow itself. It was always weird, being a two-dimensional absence of light. And it was also draining, which made her hurry to pour under the door and flow up the house wall with only some rough regard to staying in the cover of the real, more static shadows.

Once up on the roof, Riko quickly jumped into normal time and space again, stepping out into a corner that was right impossible to look into and obscuring herself yet again. She could feel a headache coming on, but she wasn’t finished yet. A few roof-jumps further, she collected her rucksack and concentrated on casting a proper Ba-Quo Raven.

Finding Errol’s Pub from the air took longer than expected and by the time she landed on the roof Riko felt ready to just drop. Slipping open the locked hatch from outside although the bolt was inside worked only because she’d viewed the setup on her first real evening in the pub. Even so, Riko’s eyes were starting to burn from fatigue as she re-locked it and descended the ladder.

With an exhausted sigh she locked her door behind her, slipping down against it and just resting and grinning for a while. Then she relaxedly readied herself for bed. It had been a much more challenging and entertaining day than she’d expected, that was for sure, but also satisfying and reassuring; she was definitely ready to continue with her plan.


	5. The Journey from Platform 9 3/4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> as the title says ;-) yes, yes, the train is such fateful trope for people to meet, but, err, well, it is that for a reason =)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bit about the card gettng ripped up is from copperbadge’s Stealing Harry, though the Atlas edition isn’t =)

The rest of Riko’s remaining free time was spent without any overly adrenaline-inducing incidents. She took care to be obscured or glamoured even when she explored on the Wizarding side but she didn’t see either Lord Malfoy or Professor Quirrell again. She also started buying the main wizarding newspaper, The Daily Prophet, though somewhat irregularly. Not keen to make herself quite that easily traceable, she didn’t buy a subscription.

Korra took just a few days to get back from Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. In addition to a ticket for the Hogwarts Express she carried a terse reply that the raven would be allowed, as long as it didn’t cause any trouble with the owls or students and that Ms. Slyver would be responsible if either case should occur.

Shrugging off the stone-cold wording, Riko went off to Avina’s just off Diagon Alley to buy a reasonably big cage, some treats, and inquire if Ms. Whistlefree would also deliver. (She would.) Then she cut out enough bars for Korra to slip in and out whenever she wanted, leaving her with some metal just begging to be viewed as and worked into tools and/or proto-keys.

Working through the school books in her brave-the-gap fashion and steadily plodding through the Latin lingua loquendi ate up a lot of time, too. Riko was quite proud of the progress she made, not only in reading up on the subjects but also in getting used to spending so much time on reading and writing.

The fact that her notes were in a weird, criss-crossing mix of English, Latin, Japanese, and occasionally Metarikana was in equal parts entertaining, gratifying, and worrisome. At Hogwarts she would have to do this in English only, and only write in readable, left-to-right lines. Horizontal only, too! Still, she couldn’t bring herself to do it all day every day, arguing that surely every other or even every third should be enough.

After all, there was all of London to discover, entertaining people to hang out with, mischief to be done, tricks to be learned, music to be heard, not to mention the streets and alleys around Diagon. Knockturn Alley, though not as immediately useful, was utterly fascinating just for the information of who went there and what did they sell or buy, and she thoroughly enjoyed the chance to explore the roofs of Marjin Alley and the surrounding streets.

When Riko woke up to find it was the 31st of August it came as something of a shock. After a lengthy breakfast Riko was unsure of what exactly to do with what little ‘free’ time she had left. She’d been exploring the day before so she ended up trying to prepare for Transfiguration again. It was the subject she’d started on last (due to entirely innocent, alphabetical reasons), and it was also the subject she was still least comfortable with.

Midday came and went and somehow the text that had already started out convoluted and dry was only getting worse. With a heavy sigh Riko capitulated and threw it all in her trunk. To soothe her conscience she went by the Library and asked the elves for the very best and entertaining text on the subject.

After some hushed discussion, they brought her a two-inch thick book that could have fit in at any antique book store, except maybe for the Title, _Breakaway into Transformation_. It was out of print ever since the first edition in the 1920-ies, so she paid four Galleons and 13 Sickles for a library-made copy and wished them a good year. Unfortunately the Library was among the few cases that only dealt with live visitors and would not do deliveries.

The rest of the day was used up by ice-cream, jumping over the roofs of London, and hanging out with different groups of local kids, trying to distract herself and calm her nerves. When evening rolled around she had to admit it hadn’t worked. Grabbing some fish and chips Riko distracted herself with people-watching, until she couldn’t put it off any more.

The day was over.

From tomorrow on she’d have to live in a completely structured school, listen to all sorts of teachers, and generally interact civilly – and long-term – with any number of people. Back at Errol’s sleep was not coming. Reading didn’t work, she just couldn’t concentrate. Music annoyed her. The light was bothering her. The weak dark was driving her nuts. Riko repacked the contents of her backpack and all three folds of her trunk. Twice. When she glanced at the clock and it was going on four, she cursed herself a fool. Pulling the blanket over her head Riko closed her eyes, refusing to think or do anything before going to sleep. She was out, at last, in under a minute.

*

Riko woke to something painfully scratching her head and loud cawing that alternated with something tugging her hair.

Mumbling a disgruntled “Korra, wh’s with’e racket?!” she opened a bleary eye and fumbled for her quasi-pocketwatch on the night stand. At least Korra vacated her head, jumping on the perch in her currently open cage, carking her opinion of lazy companions and absurd sleeping hours loud enough to make Riko’s ears ring. When Riko at last saw the time she nearly fell from the bed. Almost nine-thirty! With a string of curses she scrambled into the bath to do a hurried morning routine then started haphazardly throwing everything into her trunk and locking it. Then she had to open the trunk again, because she’d chucked the envelope with the ticket along.

Korra took a look at her scrambling human, opened the window, and cawed to inform her that she’d fly her cage down herself, and not to forget that sock over there. Riko was rather proud she had the presence of mind to just stuff it into her rucksack. Locking it right properly she also calmed down as she recalled having adjusted the her watch to Wizarding time already last night, which meant it was not actually ten-thirty in regards to her train.

Then, she was just about to close the window, a big, impressive eagle owl landed on the sill and, importantly ruffling it’s feathers, jumped in. Riko stared for a moment, completely flustered, until the big bird held out it’s leg and she saw a small, wrapped scroll attached. She hurriedly cut it off, quickly looking it over while she saw from the corner of her eyes the owl jump back outside and sail off.

The cylinder, about one-by-four inches, was wrapped in expensive-looking purpure paper with black snakes curling in pretty, moving shapes along the form. The seal holding it closed was the Malfoy crest, she’d looked it up. With an impatient shake of her head she pushed it into an inner pocket to look at later. Charging down the stairs fast enough to not get flattened by her trunk had her almost crash into an atypically awake Ilar in the corridor.

By the time the innkeep had helped her bring down the massive piece of luggage and seen her off with a good-natured wink and ‘Have a good one and don’t mind coming back, cheers!’ Riko had been obliged to gulp down a mug of strong, sweet tea and wolf down a small roll with pickles and cheese. She’d also gratefully accepted a pack of sandwiches and a bottle of iced tea, and it was just after quarter to ten.

*

It was just about quarter past ten when Riko stopped her reckless charge at platform nine at King’s Cross. She leaned her trunk against the wall to platform ten and, catching her breath, took the ticket out to read it again. She had already done that in the tube, and it still said to take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o’clock.

Closing her eyes for a moment she sighed. Opening her eyes again, Riko eyed the ticket (still nine and three-quarters), Korra looking innocent and orderly in her cage, and any and all passers-by. Her mind was in full mission-mode.

First: It was easy, of this she was certain. Not just because otherwise there probably would have been instructions on how to get there. It was a means of travel, and thus people would want to reach it without much fuss.

Secondly: she was early enough, and near enough to the place anyone sane would place a platform nine and three-quarters.

Thus, thirdly, she’d only have to watch for likely-looking folk, and then copy their trick. It might help to obscure herself, so that people wouldn’t be distracted by her loitering.

It wasn’t hard: for all the bustle that went on, no one really looked around, so Riko had obscured herself and her trunk in next to no time, Korra’s cage tied to the handle of the trunk, the raven sitting on her usual place on her shoulder. They didn’t have to wait long. A girl her age, excitedly chatting with her parents as they walked, had not only a rather new-looking trunk that reminded strongly of Abraxas’ but also a small, cream-coloured owl in a cage on the trolley. Riko moved a bit closer when they stopped a few feet from the wall between the platforms nine and ten, to overhear them better.

“.. you really sure of this, Lisa? Just go through it?” the brown-haired, stocky father asked and looked rather doubtful.

“Yes, I’m sure! It said so in the letter and also in the ‘History of Train-Use’ chapter in that book you got me! Also, if unsure, one should just run through with closed eyes.”

The mother, slender and half a head higher than her husband had the air of settling an ongoing conflict before it could fully develop. “Alright then, dear. I think we’ll better stay here, no need to try running through walls at our age.”

She winked and then bowed to hug her daughter and then, while the father did the same, slipped a package of sweets into a side-pocket of the bag perched on the trunk. Riko was not jealous, more approving, really. The girl manoeuvred her trolley so that it directly faced the wall between the platforms, gulping visibly.

“Now, don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll work just fine. And you’ll have lots of fun, of that I’m sure!” The mother put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder and kissed her head, then tucked the short black hair she had tousled back behind the ears.

The girl grinned and nodded, only breathing a short “Bye, I’ll owl you..” before she raced at full tilt at the wall. And simply vanished. Riko waited impatiently while the parents looked at each other, then again at the wall and then took each others arms to wander off.

So it was some glamour. Korra gave a mocking caw that was more a laugh, then jumped from Riko’s shoulder and flew through the barrier. Certainly the girl had already moved from the entrance, else this would give a nice collision..

Annoyed Riko shook her head and squared her shoulders. Dragging at her trunk to get some speed up she raced at the wall, refusing to shut her eyes. I worked fine. She even had a clear view in the split second before she would have hit the wall. When she was through and had slowed her trunk down Korra landed on her shoulder again, cawing delightedly and rubbing her head against Riko’s ear.

Grinning, she discarded her Obscuring and moved along, appreciatively eyeing the big red steam engine and the very posh, Victorian-age looking train. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o’clock and beside it a clock showed it wasn’t even half, yet. Everything fine and within the parameters of her plan. Also, enticingly chaotic. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of a chattering crowd while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

Most people were busy saying their goodbyes or hellos and Riko was rather glad for that. It gave her a better chance to find a good place herself. She thought she was about halfway the length of the train when there were only a few students visible through the windows, and then she passed three empty compartments before she came to the next train door. As good a place to enter as any.

After climbing in and positioning the trunk she started to pull it in. Or rather she tried to. Riko knew it was charmed to weight less than its contents, a third of all the folds combined to be exact. But either the charm was malfunctioning exactly now of all times, or, more likely she had to admit, she shouldn’t have bought quite so many interesting books. Korra had fluttered to a hook on the wall and was watching with obvious amusement.

Riko’s string of curses and tugging was interrupted when the trunk suddenly seemed to jump as she yanked at it again. A startled yelp was all she managed before being bowled over by her overenthusiastic piece of luggage. Then it suddenly remembered its weight. Wheezing, Riko struggled to extract herself from under the trunk.

“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry, really, I was just trying to help, I should have said something first, here, now don’t push it so hard, I’ll make it light again, just stay still for a moment please because I wouldn’t want to make a mistake..”

From what she could see beyond her wayward trunk, the excited, breathless voice came from a cloud of bushy, dark brown hair, most likely belonging to a girl. Then the weight lifted and Riko was very careful to push it slowly and steadily off. Once it had cleared away to the side, the trunk fell down with a heavy thud. The unasked-for helpful girl hastily pushed her wand in her sleeve and hurried to help Riko up, back to talking a mile a minute.

“Honestly, I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean for that to happen, see, when I got startled by you suddenly moving it I just couldn’t keep it light. It’s really much heavier than I would’ve thought, it’s certainly heavier than mine and that’s saying something with all the books I packed, because they really were all just so fascinating and I got some additional ones to help me get up to speed since I’d never heard of any of it and..”

At that point Riko interrupted the girl, firmly taking her shoulders and holding her half a step away from herself. After helping her up, the dark skinned girl had started to try and dust off Riko’s clothing and though well-meaning this was taking things a bit far. Also, she still had no idea how her chaotic helper was even called, and as she seemed rather nice this would definitely have to change

“Thank you very much for your help, kind stranger. If I might be so bold as to introduce myself, I’m Riko and would be quite delighted to share a compartment with you.”

Riko grinned and winked and, for both fun and added effect, bowed enthusiastically before offering her hand, which was after all local custom for muggles. The girl blinked her big brown eyes and then Riko was pleased to see a shy smile that showed rather large front teeth flash over her face, cheeks still a bit darker but now not from embarrassment or nervousness.

“Oh. Certainly. Err. I’m Hermione.”

After shaking hands they teamed up to get Hermiones trunk into the train and set out to find a compartment. Korra had slipped into her cage, content to be safe form all the hustling around. The three that Riko had thought were empty already had luggage in them, so they turned around, checking compartments as they went. In the end they settled for one that already had a single passenger, in the last quarter of the train. The girl was their age and just hurriedly leaving the compartment, likely to say goodbye to her family.

“Excuse us, would you mind if we sit here?” Riko asked with a friendly smile while blocking the way.

The girl was about Hermione’s hight, her fair hair in a pony tail and, like Hermione, dressed in practical muggle clothes. By now they’d passed an ever growing number of people in the corridor and it seemed a better bet to sit with a normal looking girl of their age than be forced to intrude on any other odd characters.

“Yeah, sure, no problem!” was the distracted reply, and Riko made room immediately, to let the girl rush past. If someone had a family they cared about here, there was no way she’d try to hinder them in their enviable goodbyes.

Looking into the compartment, something seemed just a bit off. As she and Hermione teamed up again to safely stack the trunks in a corner, Riko noticed there was not one but two big trunks already, different enough that it was obvious they probably didn’t belong to the same person. The girl hadn’t looked like she’d need two trunks, either.

“Do you think it belongs to someone else who’s out saying goodbye?” asked Hermione, when she saw Riko eyeing the tower of four trunks.

“Seems likely. It’s not like she had a chance to tell us when she charged out...” Riko grinned and courteously motioned for Hermione to take a seat first.

The girl moved to the seat by the window that would let her look in the direction they were driving from. Riko moved quickly to sit beside her, then frowned in thought. Something niggled in her mind again. Usually she liked to sit by the window. And Hermione seemed to be very curious, you’d expect her to sit so she could see where the train was heading. And she’d been closer to the other seat, too. There was a somewhat worn brass cage that held a middle sized barn owl standing beside Korra’s. Both birds were currently content to tuck their head under their wing and sleep.

As much for distraction as of necessity, Riko gave into a giant yawn, politely covering her mouth but making a good show of her cracking jaw, shutting her eyes and stretching all limbs. She also stretched out her senses, trying to feel any odd magic in their compartment. There was quite a lot, all sorts of strange, static magical auras, from the seats and the window and the trunks and.. there, in the other window-seat was something that felt very much like her own magic. Very much but not quite, a sort of veil.. ah!

Riko relaxed and opened her eyes with a grin, turning to Hermione and glancing in passing over at the opposite seat. Now that she knew it, she could see the figure of the girl from Flourish and Blotts, sitting very still.

“Sorry, I didn’t really get all that much sleep last night,” Riko commented to her neighbour.

Hermione nodded shyly and hid her own, less spectacular, yawn behind a hand. Riko had to smile at that.

“A teacher once told me, when a person yawns, and the people around the person start to yawn as well, it means they feel like they belong to a group with that person.”

As she spoke, Riko let her gaze move over the whole compartment, skimming lightly over the obscured girl. She could make her out clearly now. Straight black hair drawn back in some fancy braid style, bronzed skin darker than her own but lighter than Hermione’s, dark eyes and tense expression. This, and her rather prominent nose, called to mind pictures of stern Bedouins, though she was again dressed in a manner that made Riko think of duels and gangsters, gentlemen’s deals and debts, and similar exciting things. She was also stifling a yawn with a scowl.

Riko in turn had to stop herself from grinning like an idiot. She threw a quick, sly smile in the direction, looking the girl directly in the eyes for a moment before turning back to Hermione. This was better than sleep, tea, or coffee, the hilarity of the situation and her curiosity why the girl was hiding in plain sight while already on the train invigorating her as well as the fact that she seemed to have at least two potential friendlies in this very compartment.

“Well, I think it might have to do with me not getting much sleep either,” Hermione was saying with a shy smile, “but your reason is interesting, too.” Meanwhile the hidden girl gaped at Riko with clear alarm for barely a moment, then quickly composed herself, settling into a tense, watchful gaze.

“Why, thank you, that IS very nice of you to say..” Riko grinned at Hermione, trying to come up with a safe subject until the train started.

She didn’t want to break the Obscurantis of the hidden girl, that’d be rude, but neither did she want Hermione to speak more freely than she would if she knew there was someone else around. So far she knew very little about the mane-haired girl except that she was most likely muggle-born.

Before Riko could finish either her thinking or her verbal distraction the door of their compartment slid open abruptly. Three rather big figures, two girls and one boy, crowded the entrance, rudely glancing around down their noses.

They were clearly older and looked similar enough to assume family relations, with their thin darkish hair, light skin, and narrow, unfriendly faces. The girls, one rather slender, the other slightly shorter but more thick and muscular, had their shoulder-length hair open while the stocky boy’s was cut very short. They already wore their robes, though open, and Riko recognized the boy as the one she’d walked past in Flourish and Blotts.

“..Yes?” Riko at last addressed them in a coolly polite voice.

They hadn’t even introduced themselves and though she had a good idea what they might be looking for she wasn’t going to help them, that was for sure. She made a show of looking about their compartment, quickly noting that the hidden girl was sitting completely still, tense as a bow, the fingers of her right hand hidden in her sleeve as if to draw something out. Riko was glad that her and Hermione’s trunks were covering the other two from view.

“Did you lose something?” she said, “Sorry, nothing’s turned up here so far, but it’s not like we searched either.” She knew her cheerful smile could be quite insulting when combined with what she liked to call her mocking eyebrow, and Riko used that to full effect now.

Hermione had eyed their uncalled visitors with faint disapproval so far. Now she crossed her arms, watching them without comment, her almost-frown suggesting that her silence was meant to be disapproving, at the least. Riko was relieved her companion had decided to keep silent for the moment, giving her a chance to try and manage this.

“You haven’t seen a smelly Arab freak somewhere around, have you? Dressed like high society but absolutely no manners.” The slender girl drawled in a rather nasal tone.

Riko had to keep her first two replies to herself as she didn’t want the situation to escalate. The three were older, bigger, and likely quite proficient in wand magic. Leaning back in her seat, she crossed her arms as well. First looking around their compartment, which quite _obviously_ contained no such person, she then shared a look with Hermione that spoke volumes about their opinion on such a question.

“Can’t say that we have. We were quite busy getting our trunks in here and haven’t left since.” Continuing with the sort of bland politeness that suggested utter, bored indifference, Riko asked, “And you would be..?”

The haughty glare this drew from the slender girl was hilarious. “Humph. I’m sure even she wouldn’t sit with such rabble,” she said to the other two. They were standing on either side of her, looking like nothing so much as grumpy bodyguards.

“Those are Petronia and Leander Periss,” the girl said carelessly, noticing where Riko was looking. “And my name’s Drake. Seraphina Drake.”

The way she looked down her nose as she said it, well, and the, err, quote of course, almost made Riko laugh out loud, and she had no compunction about letting at least some of her amusement show. With a contemptuous sniff Seraphina turned around and left, her bodyguards trailing her like sheep. They could hear her muttering about ‘barbaric’, ‘inhuman freaks’ and ‘what’s Hogwarts coming to’ down the corridor, because the group hadn’t even bothered to close the door behind them.

With a sigh Riko stood up and closed it. “Well, that was pleasant company.” She remarked with a dry grin to Hermione, who looked downright put out now. Sitting down, she remarked nonchalantly “I hope they search ’til they’re blue in the face, whoever ‘she’ is.”

Hermione gave a huff. She was obviously just gaining momentum on her temper. “That was completely disgusting. ‘Smelly Arab freak’, really? And has no manners indeed, throwing stones in glass houses, that’s what that was. I should’ve told them right off, is what I should’ve done. And did you hear her, calling you that, how dare she...”

Her bushy curls were shifting almost like electrified, as if in reaction to her agitation. Riko gave her a small smile and patted her arm.

“Eh, forget it, there’ll always be idiots in the world. You get upset about every singly one, you’ll never get anything done, not to mention have no fun.” She then gave the girl a serious look. “Besides, they’d likely just have hexed us into next week if we’d told them exactly what we thought of them. And what good would that have been?”

Hermione had listened warily, but she obviously wasn’t about to agree with that. “Well, that doesn’t mean it’s right to just let them get away with it! If everyone says that then people like them will just continue to walk over everyone else!”

Riko could clearly see her frustration and wondered exactly how often Hermione had been walked over by such people before. On the other hand, she seemed to be most upset about Riko and the unknown ‘she’ being insulted, which was sweet and made her feel like she had something in common with the girl. Somehow it always bothered her more when someone else was being targeted. After all, she could take care of herself well enough.

“You are right, of course,” Riko smiled at Hermione, hoping to appease the girl’s temper. “In general, people like that need to be stood up to, or at the very least taught a lesson. But in this very situation, we two could’ve done neither. Sometimes you just have to pick you battles. As it is, they are gone, they know we hold them in little regard and I just so happen to have it on good authority, they won’t find what they’re looking for, either.”

Seeing Hermione’s dubious look, Riko continued. “See, the thing is, when you stand up to such people without being able to back it up, you are actually hurting your own cause, not to mention you should have a care for your own safety, too.”

Hermione opened her mouth to object, but kept quiet when Riko just went on. “No really. Let’s say I just bluntly tell them exactly what I think about them barging in here like that and all. They’d take the excuse of me being rude and hex me, and probably you, into next week. I can’t really use my wand yet, and I’m not quite sure you could have stopped them either. So, they’d walk away victorious, secure in the knowledge that anyone who disagrees with them can be taught a lesson. Not like there’s any authority here to teach them otherwise.”

She paused, watching it sink in. Hermione obviously didn’t like it, but didn’t argue the point. Riko nodded. “So, y’see, although I seemed to cooperate they are actually off worse this way. I now know who they are, so I can make sure to aim any hexes I fully intend to learn in the right direction. Standing up against bullies is a good thing, yeah, but it’s better to do it on your own terms. Hey, we can learn all sorts of hexes together, I got a book on it, and then we can teach them a lesson that is a bit more direct, yeah?” Riko aimed a hopeful smile at the now dejected-looking girl.

“Well, yes. Of course.” Hermione looked at her distractedly. “It’s just that standing up against it when something’s just wrong shouldn’t always depend on being able to win.”

“Alright,” Riko sighed, “that’s kind of correct as well. But in this case, it wasn’t needed. I mean, sometimes you need to stand up to something, no matter if you can win or make a difference, just because, but that’s really not the case here, just over someone being rude. That’s just, well, a waste of your breath, ’cause they won’t get it anyway.”

Riko really wanted to change the subject, but nothing came to mind as Hermione continued to look at her distractedly. She was just about to ask what was wrong, when the bushy haired girl beat her to it, and with a question Riko really could’ve done without.

“What did you mean, you have it on good authority they won’t find whoever they’re looking for?” she asked.

It had been a while since she’d outmanoeuvred herself quite like that, about a month, ironically. Perhaps she should’ve spent less time on her books and more on training to control her own tongue. Well, this was embarrassing, how was it that just being out of the usual street setting made her so incompetent at obfuscating? She’d better get her act together, well, and cursing should’ve-s was useless anyway. Riko sighed shortly, feeling herself go red.

“Ah, well, y’see..” She really didn’t want to lie to Hermione, who seemed nice, but Riko didn’t know what to say without being quite indiscreet to the other girl. “That is...can I perhaps tell you just a little later? When the train’s started to move?” Judging from the frown forming on Hermione’s face, it seemed unlikely. “Please? I give you my word it’s nothing bad or anything like that!”

“Well, all right then.” Hermione sighed, the picture of put upon impatience and Riko smiled gratefully. Her puppy-eyes, though rarely used, still seemed to work. “Ta, you’re fantastic!”

Hermione’s attempted scowl broke down as a small, inadvertent smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and her cheeks darkened again. “Oh, shut up you, honestly..” she said.

“Eh, that is almost impossible to do, shutting me up, sorry!” Riko grinned good-naturedly, buoyed by her success. “But hey! In light of that and in the mean time, let’s talk about something interesting. Did you read through some of the subjects yet? It’s just, you mentioned you had a lot of books in your trunk..”

Riko figured the school subjects should be about the safest possible thing to talk about and it turned out Hermione had a lot to say about them. Even with all the reading she had done, Riko could barely hold her own in their conversation, though she was happy to see how interesting their discussion made even the things she’d passed over.

It seemed like no time at all had passed when the train started to move. The light-haired girl hurried back into the compartment then and hastily opened the window to wave to her family. Once the train had moved past the station and picked up speed, she reluctantly closed the window. She seemed rather preoccupied, absently gathering wind-loosened hair behind her ear, and moved quietly to sit beside the obscured girl. They’d fallen silent when she entered, but now Hermione rounded in on Riko with a poke in the shoulder.

“Alright then! Now, what did you mean, exactly, when you said they wouldn’t find whoever they were looking for?”

This awarded them a curious look from both unknown co-passengers, invisible and visible alike. Hermione didn’t even notice so intent was she on poking holes into Riko with her eyes. Riko got the impression Hermione wasn’t someone to wait for answers easily and was touched the girl had decided to do so in her case.

A dry, short chuckle that Riko recognised from the book store came from the other window-seat, making Hermione gasp and turn her head so quickly that her hair was flying wildly about. The girl with the pony tail gave a jerk and turned, looking rather shocked as well.

“Heh. She meant that having already checked this compartment they likely won’t be back again, specially after the train has started. Well, perhaps sometime later, but not any time soon.” The slightly ironic smile and calm voice made Riko grin cheerfully at the girl.

“Yup, that was exactly what I meant.” And now they were all staring at her.

“You mean you knew she was here all the time..?”

“So you can see through it because you made it..?”

They’d started at the same time, breaking off with a curious glance at each other while the pony-tailed girl was looking from one to the other with a curious expression. Riko was having a hard time not laughing out loud, instead settling for a cheerful smile and a placating gesture.

“It took me a bit. If you’d taken a different seat I might not have noticed.” Seeing their matching questioning expressions, she continued, “Usually I like to sit by the window, too.”

The formerly obscured girl looked thoughtful while Hermione and the pony-tailed girl still seemed quite confused, though the latter seemed more amused.

“You already know each other?” Hermione asked, obviously intending to solve this from the root. Riko wasn’t sure, but she seemed to grow nervous with the question.

“Nope,” she grinned and shrugged, ready to give the most innocuous seeming recount possible of their short meeting in the shop. But the question seemed to have reminded the black-haired girl of something. She rose and gave them a bow, every inch the perfect gentlewitch.

“Please excuse my terrible manners. Victoria Ariana Drake, at your service. I’m very pleased to meet you.” Her voice was serious now, and a little reserved.

The other unknown girl blushed bright red under her freckles and hurriedly followed Victoria’s example with a shy smile and, “Edana Selena Eohyrde, at your service.”

Now Riko had to follow suit, there was nothing to be done. “Kaminariko Arsenia Slyver, at your service, and very pleased to officially meet you all,” she winked at them.

“Hermione Jane Granger, at your service and pleased to meet you...” Hermione still seemed very curious, but unsure how to best ask.

Riko tucked some hair behind her ear and continued the conversation with a quick smile and a gesture to Victoria. “We ran across each other in Flourish and Blotts and she helped me find a book. She seemed a bit put upon, so I gave her the means to have a little peace. Thought it was just fair, as she’d already helped me out.”

Shrugging a little, Riko hoped she’d managed to be sufficiently discreet for Victoria and satisfy Hermione’s curiosity at the same time. She quickly continued, deciding it best to treat the subject as resolved and turned to Victoria.

“And, believe you me, I know terrible manners when I see them, and you hanging around here peacefully wasn’t it. ’Sides, one of the advantages of hanging around with such rabble as us got to be that we can overlook that sorta thing, eh...”

The other two girls gave her tentative smiles at this and Riko grinned, pleased with the progress. She glanced at Edana and answered the questioning look.

“While you were out we had some uninvited visitors from a few upper years. Terrible manners, and I think they’ll be the first targets of whatever hexes me and Hermione are going to learn. I hereby invite you to join in, though we can of course wait until you’ve met them at least once, that should do the trick.”

What had started out as a friendly smile had morphed into a rather mischievous grin when Riko finished, but Edana didn’t seem to mind, her bright amber eyes crinkling in amusement.

“You’re having entirely too much fun with this, you know?” The momentary flash of a dry smile that accompanied Victoria’s accusation broke the mood further, making Riko grin even more. Apparently she had done alright by her at least.

Taking a deep breath and assuming a grave expression she made a dramatic gesture. “Never! There is no such thing as too much fun, mark my words! The very idea...it’s.. inconceivable!”

Hermione stared for a moment then giggled. Then she fell back and laughed loudly. Riko couldn’t help it, she had to join in, especially when the girl whisked back her bushy hair and made a thoughtful face to say “I don’t think it means what you think it means...”

Victoria and Edana shared a curious look as Riko and Hermione fell again back laughing. Riko caught her breath and waved it off. “Sorry, book reference. I’ll lend it to you, it’s a classic,” she giggled again before trying to get back some of her self control.

“Oh, you mean you haven’t watched the movie? You have to! It’s hilarious.” Hermione took a deep breath and looked at them all. “When you’ve read the book and liked it, we can watch it together.” As soon as she’d said it, she became nervous again. “..if you’d like, that is...”

Riko hastened to reply with a big, happy smile and clapped her on the shoulder. “Of course! That’ll be fantastic, great idea!” Then she clapped her hand to her forehead. “Oh, wait, I think I have it here, even, the book I mean!”

She dug through her rucksack for a few moments, then gave a sigh. “Well, I did, but then I put it in my trunk, after all.” She shrugged easily, “I repacked a few times when I couldn’t sleep, no idea where it’s now.” Setting the rucksack down on the seat beside her, she continued “But getting back to other important matters, please call me Riko, a’right? I really can’t deal with anything else, likely I won’t even realize you’re talking to me otherwise.”

She winked good-naturedly as she said it. Victoria shot her a shrewd glance and tilted her head slightly before bluntly asking a question Riko could have really done without, even if she knew it was to be expected.

“Are you really a Slyver? As in The Slyvers of Graywells?” Looking Riko over even more closely, she added, “Taking the name without a good reason would be a really bad idea, you know, and you really don’t look it. Actually, you look a bit young to even be going to Hogwarts already.”

Riko could hear Hermione take a breath, as if to say something, but she didn’t take her eyes off Victoria. She was quite sure the girl didn’t mean to be rude. The impression she got from both the tone and the look of her very dark eyes was that she was just very curious and direct. Riko was in turn fascinated by this interesting girl who seemed so different from the rest of her family, so she gave it her very best performance.

With a big grin she eyed Victoria right back, talking in a voice that was both cheerful and proud. “Yup, exactly those Slyvers, wouldn’t know there were any others. From what I hear, the family _was_ rather fixated on its exclusiveness.”

Only because Riko was watching very closely did she see one corner of Victoria’s mouth tug upwards at that. It set off a spark of satisfaction at amusing the very guarded and controlled seeming girl and made it easy to keep the grin. Leaning forward, while gesticulating animatedly, she continued.

“And I’ll have you know that today is my eleventh birthday and I’m only a little shorter than Hermione and I really don’t care a whit if any other traditional Slyvers are jumping about, because, you see, even if they were to try something on me, in Hogwarts of all places, they still wouldn’t get me.”

At the last words Riko leaned back, sticking her chin up haughtily and crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t stop grinning, although there was less genuine amusement in it now. But what were masks for, after all? Unlike the other two, Edana was watching quietly, seemingly torn between curiosity and amusement, and with the handful of freckles on her face she made a sweet and mischievous picture. Riko had managed to beat Hermione to it once but now her dramatic pause was interrupted by the dark-skinned girl beside her.

“What is so interesting about being called Slyver and that really was quite rude and what do you mean by them trying something on you?” Hermione also had her arms crossed, addressing the last question to Riko and looking put out again.

Hoping to placate her, Riko bumped her slightly with her shoulder and gave her a smile before loosely settling her wrists on her crossed legs. “Well, it’s a bit of a story,” she started quickly, to avoid anyone making Hermione uncomfortable by giving an unkind answer. She seemed to have a bit of a temper. Then she looked at the two girls sitting across them. Victoria was watching her closely again and seemed to have decided to ignore Hermione’s comment, while Edana was obviously interested in a bit of a story.

“Alright. I’ll tell, but I’ll want you to do the same about yourselves, it’s only fair!” Riko said, then aimed a teasing grin at Victoria, “And I’ll want to know if you’re a duellist or somesuch, ’cause that’d be awesome and you’d have to teach me!”

They all nodded. Hermione seemed placated but unsure, while Edana appeared to draw into herself a little. Victoria had leaned back a bit as well but nodded with an impassive expression

“Right. So. Yes, my father is Jack Areolaus etcetera whatever Slyver, heir to the title paterfamilias of the Slyver family, although not very active in that capacity.” She gave Hermione a look and a shrug. “The Slyver wizarding line is bloody ancient and had their own little Mafia, to put it very shortly.”

“After finishing school and working in the family business for a while he decided he’d had enough of his, well, not exactly fun-loving family and started travelling the world. I mean, seriously, they insisted on anyone wanting to socially interact with them to trace their wizarding lineage back a millennium, were madly clannish, treated their own kids no better than breeding stock and whatnot..”

Riko left off at that, deciding that the less said about them the better. Leaning back she stretched her arms before her and fixed her eyes on her hands, interlacing her fingers. She concentrated on an even voice when continuing.

“OK, so, he was immensely curious about, well, just about anything in the world that wasn’t boring old Wizarding Britain, and first he used his connections to get started on an extended journey through the world and it’s various underbellies.”

Concentrating on her fingers again she couldn’t quite stop a small, only slightly ironic smile. Telling it all as a story made it actually sort of amusing, and seeing how it was her telling the story, being the only currently available live source on it, it made her feel in control of the situation. It also helped that she had practised this whenever she had trouble sleeping the last few months, or years, really.

“So, off he went and explored the world and had lots of fun and adventures, and in the course of this entertaining life he met Ma. And so I happened, and we kept on having an entertaining life and everything was fun and explosions, until I was six.” She paused shortly and glanced at Victoria. “While my mother is definitely magical, she’s clearly not what a stuck-up, inbred, bigoted, barmy mobster would call good breeding material.”

Making a face, Riko had to call herself to attention to tell the rest of the story, or rather, the rest of what she wanted them to know, in a civilized fashion. She shrugged again.

“The family, or to be exact, his father, had of course not forgotten about Da. When they found out he had, so to speak, settled down into a life of fun and adventure with a woman and a kid, they reacted somewhat badly.”

Lacing her fingers together behind her head, Riko concentrated on the wall above Edana’s head. She had to grind her jaw for a moment, somehow the muscles there had tightened unreasonably. When she started again, Riko didn’t kid herself, her grin was anything but amused or nice. Toothy might be the nicest word.

“So, as I said, when I was six they, and anyone they had managed to find or buy who also had some beef with my parents, attacked our place in the middle of the night,” Shrugging philosophically she forced herself to continue calmly “Didn’t do them any good. I didn’t see all of it, got knocked out before the end, but I’m pretty sure they’re all dead. Or at the very least, most all of them.”

Taking care to avoid any impression of unease or defensiveness, she leaned back, “But even so, after that I can’t remember staying anywhere longer than a year.” Riko pointedly avoided shrugging or crossing her arms. It wasn’t a lie, it simply left some things unsaid.

“Unsurprisingly, being attacked like that led to a healthy portion of paranoia. And the thing is, once you start wandering, it’s hard to stop: there are always so many interesting things, and people, and of course adventures, to find behind any new corner. Besides, we travelled a lot even before that, so, not that much different, there..” She finished with an admittedly crooked smile and threw her hands up with a small shrug, to lighten the mood again.

No one seemed to know just what to say for a few moments. Edana looked pensive and shy, Victoria clearly still had questions but was too much of a cavalier to ask them right now, and Hermione seemed quite shocked. Riko hoped she hadn’t scared her off. Muggles often lived rather boring, harmless lives after all, and were often wary of anything dangerous or weird.

Well, she thought magical folk were mostly the same, they just had a slightly different view of which things were considered ‘normal’. Hermione noticed her look and suddenly determination radiated from the girl, her bushy brown hair seemed again almost electrified with it.

“Oh, but that means you’re almost a year younger than me! No wonder you’re a bit short! And it’s you birthday today! We’ll need to do something for it!”

The others looked stunned and even Riko had to blink at the outburst. Then she couldn’t stop a short laugh. Before Hermione might become embarrassed or anyone else say something she quickly replied.

“Yeah, it’s my birthday, go me! But, that means you’ll be twelve soon? When is yours?”

Hermione blushed again before answering and looked pleased. Riko was relieved and very grateful. After learning that Hermiones birthday was the 19th, Victoria and Edana were obliged to share theirs. Then everyone gave a short account of their family. Hermione was like Riko an only child. Her parents were both dentists and hadn’t known anything about magic before their daughter received her letter.

Victoria was from a big, old, all-wizarding family. She had a younger sister, Juliana, what she called ‘a number of annoying cousins’ and requested to not be called Victoria, so they settled on Vi. Her father did magical research in runes, her mother was in trading, and she did indeed plan to become the best duellist of her time, already having taken part in some competitions.

Edana asked to be called Edie and had two siblings, one older sister, Lea, who had finished Hogwarts last year, and a younger brother, Kean, by four years. Her parents were both veterinarians for beasts muggle and magical alike, her father a British wizard and her mother a muggle with family in Germany.

They were interrupted by a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled witch slid back their door and said, “Anything off the trolley, dears?”

They all had something with them for lunch but took Riko’s birthday as a welcome excuse to swarm the witch and her offered goods, deciding on a mass purchase and to take some of everything (for research, Hermione said). Victoria collected different Liquorice Wands, Edie a decent supply of Drooble’s best Blowing Gums, and Hermione eyed everything with curiosity, while Riko was delighted by the packs of Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans. When they saw there was a promotional offer on a ten-pack of chocolate frogs they couldn’t resist. The cost came to fifteen Sickles and some change and Riko was not allowed to contribute on account of her birthday.

Afterwards they started in on their respective lunches, soon talking and sharing companionably all kinds of different sandwiches, fruit, and drink. In the middle of taking a bite from her sandwich, Vi suddenly started digging through her pockets. A moment later she pressed a handful of pound coins in Riko’s hand. Edie had to lean hastily out of the way and promptly took it as a chance to get her owl from her cage and show them the brilliant trick of looking at an owl’s eyeball, by way of through the ear.

Conversation turned to pets as Edie fed Will, her owl, a few treats and Riko introduced Korra and told them about McGonagall’s letter. Vi said she didn’t want a pet, because they just tended to get in the way and Hermione told them she had completely forgotten about it, because she had spent so much time, and almost her entire allowance, in Flourish and Blott’s.

This set them to talking about books and soon to the texts on their subjects and other texts that had just sounded too interesting to pass up. From there they came quickly to all the books only available in Latin or old French or common French and agreed it would be great to learn at least the latter. Vi already knew some, because her father was actually from France, so it might even work.

Riko mentioned that using a lingua loquendi it should be easy for them to learn it without taking away too much time from their school work. When Edie pointed out one had to be of age and referenced, to be able to buy them, Riko countered with a small smile at Vi that she already knew that and added more generally that surely there’d be a way around that.

But Hermione wasn’t sure her parents would pay for something that made learning easier and they drifted to other topics. Coming from a purely muggle background, the girl was very curious about everything and admitted to being worried about knowing so very little of the Wizarding World, which had Edie trying to reassure her, encouraging her to ask about anything she liked.

By then they were opening the pack of chocolate frogs which proudly proclaimed that at least two of the cards were from the special, limited Atlas-edition. Per democratic vote Riko got four and then had to chose two for each of them. Vi was the first to open her frog’s wrapping, catching it expertly with a thwack from a Liquorice wand when it jumped.

After gleefully biting off its head, she showed them the card it had held. “Sharp, it’s Ptolemy! I already got him, but he’s pretty rare, so I’m sure I can make a good trade for him.”

Hermione looked curiously at the hexagonal card where a rather young, Egyptian-looking man waved at them and then turned to the side and moved out of view, walking, heh, like an Egyptian. Riko couldn’t help a quick grin and oh-eh-oh and from her amused look she got it, and so did Edie. Hermione was more fascinated by the moving picture, though.

“How do you make the people in the pictures move around like that?” she asked.

Vi gave a shrug, “Well, they aren’t stills, of course they’re going to move.”

Edie added helpfully “When magic-users properly finish a picture it always moves, no matter if it’s a photo or a painting, though the charms and materials and range vary of course. It’s something to do with using magic to catch different views and then assembling or merging them, and of course with some it’s as easy as making a contract to be included into an existing portrait space. I bet there’s loads of books on it in the School Library, too.”

Hermione nodded and they had some fun catching their frogs and seeing what cards they held. Edie had Agrippa and Brionna of Fletchcroft, Hermione had Nicolle Tesla and Fiona Englsky and Vi’s second card was Azkaban of the Atlas-edition, the wizarding prison far out in the icy waters of the North Sea. It looked right gloomy, especially with the weird figures that occasionally floated around it. Riko had Arachne, Araminta of Werrley, Pumayyaton of Cyprus, and the other Atlas-edition card, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

When Hermione told them how worried she was about doing well in class despite having next to no previous knowledge, Edie hastened to reassure her that the syllabus was so full that everyone started more or less from scratch, and Muggle-borns usually had not much trouble keeping up. Vi was quiet, watchfully so, but Riko, who had similar worries, nodded.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine in classes. You already said all the spells you tested worked for you, and charming the trunks earlier did, too. I expect I’ll do much worse. I did try some over the summer, but I couldn’t even get half of them right.”

She sighed with a frustration she hadn’t even been properly aware of before. “It’s just so strange, using a wand. My folks work it usually far more directly, and the trick is mostly to have enough energy and then channel and weave or direct it just right. With the wand it’s like picking a lock with lead picks while having a really bad cold or something.”

Vi snorted at that. “You do that often then?” she asked. Edie tried to hide a smile and Hermione looked scandalized. Riko blinked. Picking locks was a basic part of her usual breaking and entering, not to mention of her chosen profession, so she certainly wasn’t ashamed of it. But now she clearly needed to say something to make the others, mainly Hermione, feel ok about it as well. Well then..

“Course,” she replied cheerfully, “It’s like solving a puzzle, only more fun, I even got a book on it, it’s really interesting. And helpful for finding out more. You wouldn’t believe how often even in libraries the really interesting books are stored behind closed doors. And aren’t they supposed to be open to the public?” then she shrugged and grinned at Vi. “Though I don’t usually use lead picks or get a cold, but I do hear stories.”

Seeing by their amused reactions it was the right track, she went on. This was a good opening. “Anyway, that reminds me. I’m burning to properly explore all of Hogwarts, including any hidden chambers, lairs, secret passages and what-not. The castle is at least a thousand years old, just think of everything we could find!”

Edie’s eyes took a mischievous sparkle and so did Vi’s, although she immediately responded with a raised eyebrow and a mock serious look. “..we, hm?”

Hermione looked curious but also not quite at ease with the idea, so Riko gave them her most relaxed smile. Vi was a godsend, her easy banter was both fun and helpful in moving Riko’s plot along. She wasn’t sure if the girl was doing it on purpose, or if it was just her nature, but it cemented her desire to make her a partner in crime.

“Yes, we. I mean, you’re not going to tell me you don’t want to know, do you? I heard they have a pretty impressive library, just imagine what we could find in there alone! Possibly even a way into Library-space! That would be so great! I almost did, last winter in Nagano. But I got interrupted, and then I couldn’t find any of my starting points again..”

Hermione gave her a startled look, clearly very interested, immediately starting with various questions. Apparently there were a few books, muggle story books, that talked about it, and as Hermione admitted to a great love of all kinds of books it wasn’t surprising she had lots of thoughts on it already.

Edie jumped into the conversation with a short explanation of that mythical place and her own theories on how to find entry to it, outing herself as yet another lover of books, Riko added her own views and occasionally Vi made a comment or threw in a relevant point, seeing how her family _had_ a massive library.

Hermione was clearly fascinated. Her brows were still drawn together, but now it was in concentration, not doubt or worry. In this vein they kept on chatting, speculating about all the things they might be able to explore. Both Vi and Edie had a few descriptions from their relatives, Edie’s sister had even told her where the hidden entrance to the kitchens was.

After they’d sworn secrecy she told them and they had a good laugh about the idea of tickling a pear in a painting until it turned a door handle, and also at the other stories Lea had told her. In the middle of this, the door slid open. A round-faced boy cautiously peeked in and asked if they had seen a toad. Making a game of looking under their seats and behind their trunks, they had to tell him they had not, but if he gave his compartment, they’d get him in case it turned up. After he left they settled back relaxedly, looked out of the windows, nibbled on the sweets, and put the remains of their lunches in a bag to the side.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills. Hermione had started reading a thick book, _Hogwarts, a History_ , reminding Riko uncomfortably of how rarely she had opened her own copy.

Shaking off the thought and following worries, she finished transferring a stray parchment of notes on Herbology into the margins of her book while Edie entertained herself making all sorts of floating bubblegum bubbles. Some even had other bubbles inside them. Vi was chewing a piece of Liquorice Wand like a grass blade and staring out the window. Both were clearly busy in their own heads so, having finished and packed up, Riko turned to Hermione. The girl was continually paging through the book, as if looking for something.

“Hey, whatcha looking for?” she said. The others looked over at that.

“I was trying to find something on how we get selected for the Houses. But it doesn’t have an index, not even a list of chapters,” the girl huffed. Closing the thick book with a loud thump, she stood and excused herself to go look for a toilet.

When she came back she seemed somewhere between excited and distracted, and told them that _Harry Potter_ was in a compartment to the end of the train. She’d run into some people being rude to the boy looking for his toad and decided to help him. He was called Neville and after they’d met Harry Potter they had found the toad in a toilet stall.

Asked what Harry Potter was like, Hermione thought for a moment and then made a rather unimpressed face. “Well, he had the scar, of course, but kind of hidden under his hair, and he seemed kinda.. clueless and.. quiet,” she said at last with a shrug.

Riko raised her eyebrow but didn’t say anything, not wanting to press the girl despite her rampant curiosity. She’d read up a little on this weird, British society of magic users, even bought _Modern Magical History_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_. The rise of some sort of Dark Lord called Voldemort, complete with what read like a sort of civil war, starting some years before she was born, had been mentioned in both.

So was Harry Potter’s name. Apparently his parents had been opposed to Voldemort and been forced to go into hiding because of it. When the self-proclaimed Dark Lord found them he’d killed them, and then he’d tried to kill their son. But something happened, nobody knew what, and since then he hadn’t been seen again and was presumed to have been vanquished by the one-year-old baby Harry Potter, there-after called The Boy Who Lived.

It sounded odd, but then there was probably a lot that hadn’t made it into print, or even into the first draft. Hhardly anyone seemed interested in talking about anything from that time. She’d remembered Lord Malfoy’s reaction, when Quirrell had brought up the subject, and could only then appreciate just how damn rude it had been of the young man to do that.

She didn’t know much about Lord Malfoy but he was obviously very proud. Being forced into the service of some Dark Lord, who seemed to have been rather unhinged to boot, had to have been utterly awful. By now it was starting to get dark, so they put their jackets and sweets away and pulled on their long black school robes. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived.

“So, about the Houses“, Hermione started again, “How does anyone know which one they are to be in? I asked Neville, but he didn’t seem to know. Is there a test or something?” She looked anxious at the prospect of facing a test before lessons had even started.

“Nah, relax! We get sorted, by the Sorting Hat.” Edie waved a hand as if to show, it was really no big deal. At the questioning look of Hermione (Riko being very quietly curious and busying herself with her rucksack) she continued. “Ah, right, sorry. Well, it’s an old hat, enchanted by the four founders of Hogwarts. And it kinda looks at your head in some highly advanced, magical way, and then it tells you in which House you belong.”

She shrugged with a grin, “So you see, you really don’t have to do a thing. Lea told me it talked to her, inside her head, but I think she was trying to creep me out.”

Hermione seemed relieved but Riko watched Edie closely. She seemed tense, as if she was worried or nervous, despite what she’d just said. After a moment of thought Riko had a shocking realization. What if the hat really did look into your mind instead of doing some kind of magical brain-measuring? The idea of it made her feel ill.

To get so far only to be found out and put in care of some orphanage or, even worse, made a ward of someone with whatever agenda! It was the utter horror. While she trusted Lord Malfoy’s civility enough to not bother her, she hadn’t the slightest wish to make him officially responsible for her eduction, much less herself. Not to mention any potential disowned or otherwise remarried members of the Slyver family! She took a deep breath and licked her lips.

“You mean, it looks inside your mind? Like mind-reading? Or does it check through your memory for clues?” Riko hoped she didn’t sound as worried as she felt. Edie made a face that clearly said she found both ideas distasteful but couldn’t exclude them.

Vi was the picture of calm and collected, when she threw in, “No one really knows. Supposedly it just takes some sort of magical measure and then matches it against a set of criteria that the founders worked into it,” but her voice was tight.

While this view made Riko definitely feel better, Edie was starting to look very tense, frightened even. Hermione was again paging wildly through Hogwarts a History, to find any reference to a hat, though without success.

Another unpleasant thought occurred to Riko. “So, we really have no influence into which House we are sorted?! That sucks! What if we end up in different Houses?”

That got everyone’s attention. No one seemed pleased with the idea, but at least now they were all worried about the same thing.

“Well...surely you can have friends in other Houses, right?” Hermione asked hesitantly.

Riko was glad that Vi pressed her lips over what seemed to be a habit for dry, sharp comments. Instead, after a blink, the girl mentioned it was not forbidden to be friendly but that lack of house loyalty was apparently frowned upon. It had Riko raise an internal eyebrow at the wording as a gloomy silence descended.

After a short dismay, however, Riko was getting more annoyed than worried. Then of course she decided to take the problem head on and gut it. In hindsight she was surprised it had taken her so long, it was usually her first reaction. Maybe it came from acting all civilized in company, she’d have to keep an eye on it.

“Well, I’m not gonna let that bother me. Either this hat is as smart as it’s made out to be, and puts us all in one house, or it isn’t. And in that case I certainly won’t care about its opinion.” Riko stated this calmly and with the confidence of being the final authority on what people told her to do for years.

Relaxing into her normal mindset of broad-stroked, basic plans, she continued with a grin that was built for persuasion. “How ’bout we make our own house. If we are sorted into the same house, we’ll be an exclusive sub-house, and if not, then we’re still all members of our own.”

She shrugged as if conceding a point and continued. “Of course we’re not enough people to be an actual house, we’ll just have to come up with a cool name for our group.” She leaned forward, looking expectantly at the others. They seemed to be interested enough to seriously consider names, instead of arguing why it was a bad idea. With a delighted grin, Riko decided to finalize the matter to something more substantial.

“Alright then, let’s make a pact.” She angled her cards out of her pocket and chose Hogwarts, then ripped it into four pieces. “See, this way it’s like a pirate map. Everyone has a piece and we’re all in it together. We can stick together in class, share notes, and just.. hang out, work together, y’know, to discover the castle an’ all. We could even make a real map and share the map-pieces again!”

Vi was the first to answer. “You’re nuts, you know, that was a first-print card of a limited edition,” she said, but she gave a quick flash of a pleased grin and took the piece Riko offered her. Then, with a decidedly tolerant eye-roll she added, “Well, if I’m really going to train you in duelling, I’ll be hanging out with you anyway. And I admit it might be entertaining.”

Both Edie and Hermione took theirs with small smiles, happily comparing the impressive towers, roofs and battlements on their pieces. Both seemed a bit surprised at being included in a group, leading Riko to suspect it wasn’t something they were used to. Talk turned to names for their group and potential passwords, credos, and oaths. Riko was content to listen, satisfied at having both got what she wanted and improved everyone’s mood.

Then she remembered they would arrive soon and decided to visit the loo while still on the train. Hermione agreed and they left Vi and Edie to a discussion about the customs of different well-known sisterhoods. They weren’t the only ones, though, who had the idea of a quick trip to the loo and had to wait quite a while. Hermione had just finished, making Riko the next in line, when Neville came by and asked again if they’d seen his toad.

“You lost him again? What were you doing, really? Did someone bother you again?” Hermione sounded upset at just the idea of it and the boy hastened to explain that no one had bothered him and where he had last seen his pet. Riko shrugged and left them to it, giving the girl a small wave before going into the booth. No point in being a hold-up or rude, after all.

Hermione looked stressed when she arrived back at their compartment only moments before a voice echoed through the train: “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.”

They looked at each other, suddenly nervous again. They had already put away everything so they joined the crowd thronging in the corridor. The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. They huddled together, shivering in the cold night air.

Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Riko heard a booming voice: “Firs’-years! Firs’-years over here! All right there, Harry?”

Looking in the direction, she could only see upper body of what had to be a giant. He wore a big black overcoat and his face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard.

“C’mon, follow me – any more firs’-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs’-years follow me!”

Slipping and stumbling, they followed him down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was very dark either side of them but Riko could make out lots of tree-shapes in what seemed a very thick forest. After the four of them stumbled into each other a few times, Riko and Edie took the lead, their night vision being better than the other’s.

Nobody spoke much. Neville sniffed once or twice and Edie whispered to them, that the giant man was called Hagrid, Lea’d told her about him a lot. They were near the rear of the group when he called “Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec, jus’ round this bend here.”

There was a loud “Oooooh!”

The narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. It looked far more impressive than on the little card.

“No more’n four to a boat!” Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore and the four of them hurried forward to get to an empty boat.

“Everyone in?” he shouted. He had a boat to himself. “Right then – FORWARD!”

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

“Heads down!” yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles.

“Oi, you there! Is this your toad?” said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

“Trevor!” cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid’s lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door

“Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?”

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.


	6. The Sorting Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sorting Hat sorts, as he does. (how, though? And really, just how creepy is the idea of it if you think on it? and who goes about sorting their clothes by colours, anyway?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, a few excerpts from the original were used in a decidedly borg fashion. not many, though, I don´t think, and I rather prefer to avoid that sort of thing, so there´s that =)

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Riko’s first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

“The firs’-years, Professor McGonagall,” said Hagrid.

“Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.”

She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fitted the whole of Errol’s pub in it, more than once. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling almost too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase faced them, connecting the upper floors with those below. They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor.

Riko could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a smallish empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said Professor McGonagall. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.”

“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.”

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville’s cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on a red-haired boy who had a black smudge on his nose. A somewhat Indian looking boy next to him tried unsuccessfully to flatten his chaotic mop of black hair. Having already known most of McGonagall’s speech, Riko had used the time to look around.

Her three new friendlies were looking clean enough, if increasingly nervous. She thought about trying to get her own chaotic hair to look a bit more orderly, but dismissed the idea. Firstly, it wouldn’t work anyway, and secondly, she saw no reason to try and look any different from her normal self for their introduction, no point in building wrong expectations.

“I shall return when we are ready for you,” said Professor McGonagall. “Please wait quietly.”

She left the chamber. Riko swallowed. The idea of a magical hat looking inside her head and proclaiming to the whole school that she shouldn’t be here, was looming in her mind again.

“How exactly do they sort us into houses?” she heard the boy with the unruly black hair ask. His enormous fringe went down over his eyebrows and half his nose by now.

“Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.”

Riko looked at Edie when she heard the red-haired boy’s answer. The girl’s eyes widened, the amber looking to flash golden in the torchlight, her freckles standing out sharply as she paled, but she resolutely shook her head, whispering. “Lea would have told me!”

Neville, who had ended up next to them, looked relieved as he overheard it. He clearly hadn’t realized his cloak wasn’t quite in order, his face almost white as he stared about. When Hermione noticed this she quickly stepped over and started to tug it so it would sit right. Of course in the process she nearly shocked the boy to death. After a moment of confusion, she realized just what she’d been doing and quickly took her hands off him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, really, I should’ve said something first. I just saw it and thought I should help and.. please don’t be mad?”

The way he looked at her it seemed more likely he would puke from fright, Riko thought, glad of the distraction. Hermione seemed aware of this as well, looking uncomfortably over her shoulder. No one was paying attention to them.

“Listen, it’s alright to be afraid, honestly. Just act as if you aren’t and do what you think anyway, then you’ll be less afraid automatically!” Hermione whispered with a very nervous face. “It’s working pretty well for me, ’cause otherwise I think I might faint.”

Riko grinned at the words and leaned over. “She’s right, you know. My father told me that’s how bravery works. You just say to yourself: yeah, I’m totally scared right now, but I’ll still do what I please. Oh, and distracting yourself is a good trick, too, like I’m doing now.” She winked.

Then something happened which made them whirl around and press together even more – several people behind them screamed.

“What the –?”

Riko gulped, others gasped. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, “Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance..”

“My dear Friar, haven’t we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he’s not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?”

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years. Nobody answered.

“New students!” said the Friar, smiling around at them. “About to be sorted, I suppose?”

A few people nodded mutely.

“Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!” said the Friar. “My old house, you know.”

“Move along now,” said a sharp voice. “The Sorting Ceremony’s about to start.”

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

“Now, form a line,” Professor McGonagall told them, “and follow me.”

Riko got into line behind a girl with blonde pigtails, her new friendlies behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors, into the Great Hall. It reminded her of uncle Kal’s official hall, only here it was lit by scores and scores of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets.

At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver.

Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, and also to distract herself from the teachers at her back, Riko looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She heard Hermione whisper, “It’s bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.”

Riko grinned. It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all. Her uncle would love this. She looked at the others and grinned encouragingly, despite being just about ready to bolt. They seemed to relax at that, which in turn made her feel much better.

In the meantime Professor McGonagall had placed a four-legged stool in front of their line. On top of the stool she put what had to be the sorting hat. It was patched and frayed and looked a bit dirty. Riko eyed it dubiously. For a few seconds, there was complete silence, then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

_“Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,_

_But don’t judge on what you see,_

_I’ll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

 

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

 

_There’s nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can’t see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

 

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

 

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

 

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you’ve a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

 

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You’ll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

 

_So put me on! Don’t be afraid!_

_And don’t get in a flap!_

_You’re in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I’m a Thinking Cap!”_

The whole Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

Only the fact that she was being watched by so many people kept Riko in place. She could hear her pulse and felt suddenly light-headed, swaying lightly against Vi at her side. ‘There’s nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can’t see’, kept repeating in her mind.

Then Vi poked her in the side with a whispered “Oi, your face is going grey. Get a grip!” Riko swallowed and started breathing again, giving Vi a quick, thankful smile. The fight hadn’t even begun yet, this was not the time to panic! Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” Professor McGonagall declared. “Abbott, Hannah!”

So, alphabetical, apparently. Great. The pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails to Riko’s right stumbled out of the line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment’s pause –

“HUFFLEPUFF!” shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Riko saw the ghost of the Friar waving merrily at her.

“Bones, Susan!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!” shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

“Atuin, Alice!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!” and Alice squeezed herself beside the other two youngest Hufflepuffs.

“Boot, Terry!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

“Brocklehurst, Mandy” went to Ravenclaw too, but “Brown, Lavender” became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers. “Bulstrode, Millicent” then became the first new Slytherin and was welcomed with clapping by her table.

When McGonagall came to “Drake, Victoria”, Vi gulped visibly but she looked calm and collected as she walked to the hat. As with some others before her it took a few moments, before it screamed “HUFFLEPUFF!”

As the duellist walked to her table, head high and back straight, she looked both pleased and defensive. Vi’s new housemates welcomed her with the same cheer as the other first-years, but Riko also heard a few angry, jeering calls from other tables. That had to be the three they had seen today, and the other annoying cousins Vi had mentioned, and Riko resolved to find out who they were and how best to trouble them.

She scooted over to stand with Edie who seemed almost petrified. “Pst. Psst!” she bumped the girl unobtrusively with her elbow. “Relax. You’ll be fine! Don’t worry, it’s just a silly, singing hat!” Riko whispered this, and other things to that effect, until McGonagall called up “Eohyrde, Edana“.

As Edie walked forward like a damned to her scaffold the Deputy Headmistress was shooting Riko a stern look. Riko looked away, keeping her eyes on Edie. Perhaps it was not very polite, whispering like that, but trying to keep the friendly girl from fainting of fright was more important in her book. She wondered if Edie also had some odd circumstances in her head that she didn’t want the hat to see. There was little other reason for her to be so scared, and anyway, she hadn’t seemed timid at all, so far.

But whatever might have been the reason, after only a few tense moments the hat screamed “RAVENCLAW!” Edie seemed almost in trance as she put the hat back on the stool and stumbled to her table, where she was received with clapping.

Riko frowned. She was now very glad they had their pact. She was also glad that whatever Edie had feared, hadn’t happened. But no matter what it was, if it was bad enough to make the girl look like she had just faced an executioners squad, Riko wanted to know. No one would get away with troubling any friendly of hers, and most certainly not on that scale!

She swallowed again, nervously. Whatever it was, she’d find out, discreetly. Perhaps it was a matter she couldn’t help with, but she couldn’t know that yet. And usually, even if one could not remove the problem itself, there were other ways to help, and yes, distracting was great, oneself or others.

Riko edged towards Hermione, but refrained from further whispering. The dark-skinned girl seemed encouraged by the proceedings so far and eager to be sorted herself. When she was called, Hermione beamed a brilliant smile at Riko and almost ran to the stool, hurriedly jamming the hat on her head. It took again a few moments until it screamed “GRYFFINDOR!”

Over the cheering of Hermiones new housemates Riko heard a groan to her left. It was the red-haired boy. Lacking other distractions, and not about to groan herself, now, she scowled at him, then grimly looked at the hat again. This was seriously annoying.

She crossed her arms and glared at the offending piece of headgear. The more she thought about it, the more she resented this sorting, and the hat itself seemed rather suspect. Looking into people’s heads and then putting them into drawers like socks. And who would ever get the stupid idea to sort different socks into different drawers. Not to mention looking into people’s heads. She sighed, annoyed.

Thinking in circles wouldn’t help her. She’d just wait and see. And if the hat decided to make trouble for her, Riko’d make sure it was reduced to ash before she left this place. Having come to at least some sort of plan, she returned her attention to the rest of the hall, as the Indian-looking boy with the tousled black hair stepped forward. Whispers broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

“Potter, did she say?”

“The Harry Potter?”

Riko eyed him interestedly. He seemed normal enough, though also very nervous. She wondered at that, as the hat took again a while until it suddenly screamed “GRYFFINDOR!”

Hermiones table erupted into an enormous cheer at the development, though the boy seemed to hardly notice. He looked a bit shaky. The hat sorted “Roberts, Peter” and “Sanson, Marie” into Hufflepuff, where they were cheerfully received. Then the Deputy Headmistress called out “Slyver, Kaminariko” and Riko concentrated on ignoring the resounding silence in the hall, walking very casually to the stool and dropping the damned hat on her head.

The dark inside of the hat smelled of dusty cupboard and then she heard a small voice inside her ear. “Oh dear, what a sight now.” Gripping the stool with both hands she stiffened and concentrated on her resolution to utterly destroy the hat if it should give her any trouble.

“Now, now, no need for such drastic measures, I assure you! I wouldn’t tell a soul!” the small voice said.

Riko did not relax, not in the least. In fact she had to restrain herself even more, now that she knew the hat had really seen inside her head. Bright anger threatened to break through and she grit her teeth to keep still.

“Really, now, there’s no need for such rage. I’m only doing my job here, no muss, no fuss, officially approved even. And I don’t see it all. I’ll even wish you good luck in regards to your friends. I must say, it’s been a while since I saw one with quite such a flavour of ambition as yours.”

Riko had to force herself to breathe through clenched teeth and thought very clearly and deliberately “If you ever inform anyone in any way of anything in my head...”

The hat actually seemed to wriggle a bit on her head at that. Riko wasn’t sure if it was from fear, affront, or amusement and she didn’t care. She’d warned it. Anything else was up for the hat to decide.

“Well, if you’ll be like that, I’ll just do my job and nothing more!” the voice huffed. “Now, let’s see, hm, interesting, why, I could almost see you joining your friend in Hufflepuff, ah, but no, considering your ambition, ways, and means, it’s clear you belong with SLYTHERIN!”

The last word was shouted, and Riko was left, after the short flash of hope and its following dismissal, both annoyed and relieved. And what did it mean by only doing its job and nothing more? Only too aware of being stared at by the entire bloody school, she took care to walk briskly to her own table, glad they were welcoming her the same way they had for the other first-years. She aimed for her year-mates and they made room for her.

She could see the High Table properly now. At the end farthest from the door sat Hagrid and in the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore in a bright purple robe. He’d been in the same history books as Harry Potter, a force to be reckoned by all accounts though Riko recognised him from a picture in her _Hogwarts, a History_. His silver hair was the only thing in the whole Hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Riko spotted Professor Quirrell, too, looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.

There were still first years to be sorted. Four of them joined Riko in Slytherin, another four joined Hermione in Gryffindor, two went to Hufflepuff and one to Ravenclaw. Then Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

When she returned to the table, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

“Welcome!” he said. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!”

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Riko didn’t know whether to laugh or not, but was infected by the overall light mood regardless. From her seat she could see Vi and they grinned at each other. Craning her neck she could do the same with Edie, but Hermione was not visible behind the Ravenclaw table.

Someone poked her in the shoulder. “Oi, what are you looking at? Aren’t you hungry?”

Riko turned around and blinked. The dishes were now piled with food. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.

Catching herself she turned to answer the boy. He had a pale, pointed face and was looking at her curiously. “Oh, sorry, I was just a bit distracted. I’d hoped to get in the same house as my friends, but the hat had other plans.” She shrugged. “I’ll manage anyway. Please don’t be offended, but could you give me your name? I can’t seem to remember any names at all from the Sorting.”

She smiled sheepishly. If this was to be her family for the next seven years, it wouldn’t hurt to be on good terms with them. He grinned back and held out his hand “Draco Cygnus Malfoy, at you service. And yeah, you did seem rather preoccupied. You were looking at the hat as if you wanted to burn it on the spot.”

He clearly didn’t mind the idea, and Riko grinned back. He seemed alright and she wondered if he was Lord Malfoy’s son, but decided to be discreet for now. They started to load their plates with food and Draco made introductions to his friends. Obviously he had managed to remember names from the sorting, or at least Riko’s.

Pansy Antonia Parkinson had her dark hair in a bob and gave Riko a mischievous smile after a curious look very similar to Draco’s first. Vincent Polonius Crabbe and Gregory Garrus Goyle were rather large and seemed a bit shy. The four had known each other since they were small, as they shared tutors and their parents had business with each other. Then the other first years introduced themselves.

There were the Sorrentino twins, Perdita and Silvio, with matching short dark hair and dark green eyes. Their mother had come from Italy for some high-grade potions-research for the Aurory. When they mentioned their other mother was a muggle professor, Draco looked at them a bit odd, but didn’t say anything, well, beyond Slytherin obviously being the best house anyway, and shooting a half-dismissive, half-accusing look at Riko.

The two clearly _chose_ to be agreeable and voice their being thrilled to be in Slytherin. Professor Snape, the head of house, was a famous potions master, they said, and they hoped to learn all sorts of interesting tricks. Bulstrode, another half-blood, immediately took a shine to them. Her father worked and lived as a muggle country physician while her mother was managing her family fortune and real estate. With her dark eyes and short dark hair she fit right in with them, and they started talking about all the odd little situations that kept popping up with family on both sides of the divide.

Targhin seemed laid back and self-assured, not to say regal. She had tanned skin, light coppery hair and proudly sparkling blue eyes as she told them her mothers family was known for breeding horses and hounds, magical and common, since the time of the Vikings. They were always travelling between their homes in Northumberland and the middle east, where her father’s family lived.

Zabini, darker skinned than Hermione and last to be sorted, was less forthcoming with hard info on himself but didn’t mind regaling them with stories of his mother, a famous societe, and his father, a distinguished Italian gentleman of leisure. The proud grin and elaborate gestures made it quite obvious he had a decent sense of mischief, talking fluently and only thinly veiled about what were obviously rather high-stakes games and deals.

Cynthia Lannis was poised and cool about being the only muggle-born, although Riko thought the girl wouldn’t have admitted to it if she knew enough to fake it. As it was, the girl told them proudly that her parents worked as doctors in a high-class clinic. The girl with the wavy blonde hair seemed ill-at-ease after that, but Targhin drew her into a conversation and soon they were chatting amiably about their shared interest of dogs.

Riko was slowly starting to relax. So far, although they were a rather formal bunch, no one had bothered her about her name or her family, and her year-mates seemed to be quite alright.

Draco’s, well, Malfoy’s little group held mostly to themselves but were polite enough when interacting with the others. He was indeed the heir of Lord Malfoy, as he proudly pointed out soon enough. He was also convinced that muggleborns were, just like muggles themselves, just trouble waiting to happen, lacking fundamental understanding of the Wizarding World and its customs, not to mention required skills or magical lineage.

Lannis looked rather displeased at his smug airing of opinion, as did Targhin. At the two sets of cool, unimpressed looks, well, three, one from a girl with a prefect badge, Malfoy hurried to add they’d just have to make sure she learned it all very fast so she wouldn’t cost them any points. There was no arguing with that, certainly, as the dark-haired prefect nodded and went back to talking with her neighbour, the subject clearly closed for the other first-years.

That dealt with, and having finished her first helping of lamb chops and roast potatoes, Riko angled herself some roast chicken and chips. She would have been pleased about some fish, and maybe a few vegetables that weren’t cooked till mushy, but she wasn’t going to complain about this delicious feast either.

When she sat back, a ghost had floated up to sit between her and Malfoy. The boy didn’t look pleased with the situation, quite understandable as the ghost was looking right grim and radiated a bitter cold. As she moved, Riko’s arm brushed through the ghost’s and she had the sudden, uncomfortable feeling she’d just plunged it into a spray of ice-cold water.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, the ghost turned to view her, studying her with his staring eyes, an intense interest in his angular face. His simple robes were stained with silver blood. Somewhat irritated, Riko just stared back, hoping to get back to her food sooner rather than later, but not wanting to appear rude to a spirit.

“Hmmmm, you do have a rather intriguing aura,” he said in a harsh whisper after some moments of study. That was bad enough, but then he actually poked with his finger into her head, as if testing for something.

“Do you mind?!” Riko croaked angrily, moving her head back and shuddering. It was the most disgusting brain freeze she had ever experienced.

“Ch-h Ch-h Ch-h, no, not at all.” It took her a moment to understand he had laughed. As she looked closer, she could see that his throat was cut from ear to ear. His face didn’t give any indication of being amused and Riko felt the hair on her neck start to raise.

“I dare say, you might be able and find a ways to actually interact with a ghost such as me. How very interesting. Don’t stare now, it’s not polite.” He rasped all this without changing the sharp, gaunt expression of his face.

Riko couldn’t help but gape for a moment. For him to tell her what wasn’t polite, after saying such a thing! And poking in her head! The nerve! She narrowed her eyes, channelling Uncle Kal’s frosty manner. “I dare say I probably could. What kind of spirit are you? And do mind your manners yourself!” Riko let her eyes linger at his throat before glaring at his face.

In reply he tilted his head, appraising her with what might be a smile if it wasn’t so sharp. “Ah-ah, I think I might have to keep an eye on you, my dear. Do try to make our house proud again this year, children.” With that he rose and floated through the Hufflepuff table and the wall of the great hall. There were yells from the students that had been floated through, but Riko’s attention was caught by the way people around her were staring. At her.

She could feel her face blush and stabbed a piece of chicken with more force then strictly necessary. “And here I was pleased at not being mugged during dinner on account of base courtesy,” she growled, then chewed forcefully to keep herself from further comment.

Targhin immediately jumped into the situation. “Oh, don’t you worry none. We’re certainly all curious but we do have some manners,” she drawled with a grin. The others gave a small collective chuckle and returned to their meal and conversations.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding, the list went on and on.

As Riko helped herself to a treacle tart, Malfoy slid closer and said quietly that if Riko liked, Parkinson would make sure she only had to tell her story once. “She can handle gossip like you wouldn’t believe. Her father is more or less managing the Prophet and she’s learned most all the tricks already,” he grinned.

As he talked Parkinson looked over and winked, clearly curious but, as Targhin had said, they did all have manners. Riko smiled back and nodded. At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The Hall fell silent.

“Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.”

Dumbledore’s twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Gryffindor table at that and remained there as he continued.

“I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

“And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.”

Riko heard a few people laughing, but everyone she could see on her table looked either serious or curious or both. She heard the girl prefect who had looked over earlier argue with the boy beside her, another prefect, in a whisper how odd it was for the headmaster to not state a reason and who should go and have it out with Professor Snape.

“And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!” cried Dumbledore, ignoring the reactions to his announcement. Riko also noticed how the other teachers’ smiles had become rather fixed by then, which the headmaster also ignored.

Clearly in a splendid mood, Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he was trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words.

“Everyone pick their favourite tune,” said Dumbledore, “and off we go!”

And the school bellowed:

_“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

 

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they’re bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

 

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we’ve forgot,_

_Just do your best, we’ll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot.”_

What with everyone following a different tune, everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only a pair of red-headed Gryffindor boys were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

“Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!”

The Slytherin first-years followed Gemma Farley, the pretty, dark-haired sixth year prefect had introduced herself, through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall and down a marble staircase into the dungeons. After what Riko felt an unreasonable amount of walking down corridors, more stairs, and turning corners, they stopped in front of a bare patch of stone wall.

“Calix habebimus“, said Farley, and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open. As they crowded into a small antechamber she warned them of the four steps leading down and welcomed them into the Slytherin common room.

A long, many-domed room it was, with pillars and arches rising from and resting against rough stone walls, artfully wrought lamps of metal hanging on chains, giving off a relaxing, greenish light. Thick rugs in complimentary shades of green were arranged on the floor and a fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece that jutted out from the left wall like a fiery peninsula. Several carved chairs and a few couches were arranged near the gigantic fireplace and Farley settled them there.

Tired as she was, this alerted Riko immediately. She could hear people talking quietly around them, but while the light from the fire made her and her yearmates very visible it also hid those older Slytherins in comparative darkness. Her natural night vision might allow her to see some of them if she turned away from the fire, but then her cat’s eyes would be obvious in all their reflective glory and she didn’t fancy creeping out her new housemates, first thing.

Besides, the prefect was clearly going to give them their orientation. It’d probably be best to just take that in first, and keep in mind they were being watched. Most other students were surely just catching up, but it’d be foolish to think the current set-up accidental. Riko noticed that although they had been rather drowsy on the way down, her yearmates were now all wide awake, their attention on Farley. The prefect nodded with a satisfied expression before addressing them.

“Very well, from your admittance to Slytherin I assume you are smart enough to know the hat rather simplified our house. I also trust you either already know or will learn quick enough what you need to know in specifics. A few things, however, shall be made perfectly clear.”

“Blood may not be everything, always, but it does matter. Family, tradition, all of our culture, they matter for they are the base of everything. Slytherin embodies these values like no other house,” her pretty smirk did not distract Riko from how serious the prefect remained. “This includes no shirking of the standard hats from any of you. At earliest you can start once the other houses are done getting points taken for it.”

“Which brings us to the next part: We’ve won the house cup for six years running now, and that means the other houses are watching us for any sign of weakness. So remember: do not get caught doing anything forbidden. If you do get caught, have a good excuse ready and know whom you are going to blame. They like to pretend they’re better than us and we like to prove them wrong in all the ways obvious enough for them to understand.”

“Which bring us to the last part: You are Slytherin now,” She looked over them with the air of a sovereign surveying her troops. “Slytherin doesn’t just stick together, we are one united front against any outside forces. Keep that well in mind and any quarrels inside the Lair.”

Whatever she saw as she looked them over again, it seemed acceptable. She nodded again.

“If you have questions or problems, you can ask any of us prefects. We will either help you or point you in the right direction for you to help yourselves,” she motioned to where a tall boy with his dark hair in a short ponytail had joined her. “This is Abraham Montague, he is also in sixth year. We have neither O.W.L.s nor N.E.W.T.s to worry about, so we can make the prefecture our main priority.”

Montague nodded to them with a friendly smile. “You’ll meet the other prefects tomorrow morning, and of course you can go to any of them as well, if you need something but can’t find us. You’ll also get your schedules tomorrow morning, and you’ll have one of the prefects escort you to the first lesson of each of your subjects, cuts down on the cases of getting lost.”

He gave them a short grin. “And now I wish you a good night’s rest. The girl’s dormitories are reached via the right-side hallway, boys take the leftmost. This year the first rooms you reach are first-years, but look for your luggage to make sure before you fall into a bed,” he winked and made a shooing motion towards the wall opposite to the entrance.

Murmuring their own good-nights they ambled in the indicated direction. After almost walking headlong into a few doors in their rather long, winding, and dimly lit corridor, they almost missed the heavy darkwood door to their right. A silver plaque on it reading ‘First Years’ glinted in the soft light and inside they found their beds at last: six four-posters hung with many-layered silk curtains of deep green.

Their trunks had already been brought down. Too tired to talk, they pulled out their pyjamas and crawled into bed. Riko was already dozing off, somehow greatly relieved by Korra’s still form in the open cage on her bedside table, when she remembered the scroll from this morning. Fishing it out of her jacket, she broke the seal to find a short but friendly note regarding her birthday.

Rolled up in it was a box containing a small spherical pendant of opaque glass. Blue, she guessed in the weak light, less than half an inch in diameter at most, on a fine silver chain. Curiously, she reread the flowing script on the small but thick parchment.

_It was very good to meet you at last, but even so I don’t feel I know you well enough for a proper, spellfather type gift that could still be entertaining. This, however, I’m sure you can make good use of, and perhaps make your father tell you a few stories about it’s value and various uses._

_It is a cueroscope, rather finely tuned._

_Though I hope you won’t have to use it for anything worse than someone trying to bluff you at cards, I have little illusions about the trouble young people can and like to get up to._

_Happy Birthday from your spellfather,_

_Lucius, Lord of Malfoy_

Well. Riko liked to think she was a rather good judge of people already, but this would certainly help in making her better, and it was a great gift in general. She wasn’t sure how she felt about receiving such a (likely quite expensive) gift, but there wasn’t anything to be done about that, nor any point in worrying about any potential link to her father, so she might as well appreciate it.

She dug out her small satchel of writing supplies to pen him a note of thanks, Korra could deliver it tomorrow. The raven had after all spent most of today dozing, and could use the opportunity to spread her wings. Then Riko replaced the shiny silver chain with a length of rather more discreet dark, strong twine, knotted it around her neck and then, at long, long last, she could fall asleep.


	7. Wizarding Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adjustments are necessary, for anyone entering a boarding school, though the degree of change may vary. Still, it is all very interesting and what is normal, really, anyway?

Riko spent most of her first day at Hogwarts feeling as if she was half a step behind everyone else. It started in the morning when she woke up to oddly coloured sunlight in her eyes. Opening her eyes and finding herself in a giant four-poster, she had a moment of confusion. Hogwarts, Slytherin, dorm-room, four-poster – ok, that made sense. However, she clearly remembered going down into the dungeons...?

Standing, she took a rather more aware look around their room than yesterday night. Compared to the common room it was rather low but featured the same arches and pillars worked into the walls and ceiling of living stone, hung with artful tapestries. Three beds stood with their headboard to the wall through which the door lead, two to the left wall, and her own to the wall on the right.

The wall opposite the door was broken by windows. They were large and beautifully shaped, like fancy old key-holes or those arches in Arabian castles, and looked out into the lake, the water lending the light a dreamy quality.

Right. They were in the cliff-side. Under water. Fantastic, in every sense, really.

The others were still sleeping, so Riko decided to explore and maybe find the nearest bathroom before her roommates woke. The latter was achieved as soon as she tested the unfamiliar door some two feet from her bed. That she had completely overlooked yesterday evening, wow. It was heavy, dark wood, and opened inwards into a, no, into their bathroom, roomy, bright, and pretty. Nice.

In the early morning light, filtered by the lake water, the common room looked markedly different, though no less pleasant. She could now see lots of agreeable, cozy-looking nooks and crannies in the rough rock-walls and crafty architecture, where the stone wasn’t covered by bookcases or banners and tapestries, most of them in different, enjoyable shades of green. The windows resembled those in the dorm room, with some variety in form, giving a view into the lake and polstered so that one could comfortably sit and look outside or curl up and read. There was also a really long darkwood study table in the centre of the room, with highbacked, green-polstered chairs, and several smaller tables, couches, and chairs spread around in various corners and niches.

Riko was contemplating checking  out the contents of the nearest bookcase, or see if the windows were glass or magic or both, or maybe take a peek into the boys dormitories corridor, when Abraham Montague stepped out from it.

“Hullo, there! Early riser you are!” he smiled in greeting, “You’re the Slyver kid, right? I’m naturally curious, but as your prefect I’ll give you some advice first,” he winked but his eyes were a neutral, almost guarded shade of serious. “First thing, don’t make a big mystery of whatever your story is, unless you want it to get you all sorts of attention.”

Then he grinned and added in a lighter voice “Also, what should I call you? I’ll ask each of you sprogs at some time, just your luck to be first.”

At her questioning look he explained “Well, some want to be known by their family names, others have rather long names that don’t exactly lend themselves for casual conversation, stuff like that. I, for example, rather dislike my given name, and though I think it important that people know it first, I’d prefer if you’d call me Gray, from my middle name, Graham.” He made a face, but winked at her again; amused but still a mask.

Riko grinned back one of the cheerier Slyver-grins of her Da. “Riko, would be good. Thanks, Gray. Also, Parkinson said she’d help me out with the curious ones, I’ll just have to tell it to her first.”

As they spoke, an older boy with dark skin and meticulous hair, he had to be seventh year, had come up, looking at Riko with a raised eyebrow. When he shot a questioning look at Gray, Riko could see he also had a prefects badge. Gray introduced them as Jake Flinton and Riko Slyver.

“Pleased to meet you, Slyver. Jake’ll do, in company, and you’d better get yourself and your roommates ready for the day. No need to bother with books before getting your schedules.”

He gave her a quick, polite smile and then started talking to Gray, seemingly dismissing her. With a shrug she turned and went back to her dorm room. He seemed nice, if a bit imperious, while Gray’s modus operandi reminded her of a classic good cop routine with Gemma cast as the bad cop. When she arrived back in her room, the others were already waking.

After showering and dressing Riko only just managed to secure her fangs in their usual concealed places before joining the others in the common room. Where they were handed their timetables, yes. By their head of house, Professor Snape.

He struck Riko as at least as much someone you didn’t want to cross as Professor McGonagall had, and a terribly sharp bastard, to boot. His tongue was certainly fit to cut you in two if you didn’t have a care, and the calm, oblique way he watched them so closely while he, err, introduced himself, well, if Farley was the bad cop then he was the literal black ops team sent to take you out, for sure.

“Welcome to Slytherin,” he started, his voice a silky drawl while he looked them over like a seasoned buyer a set of potentially interesting merchandise.

His eyes were as dark and sharp as Vi’s, but his skin a monochromatic pale that didn’t look entirely healthy. It made for an odd look, with his hawkish nose and shiny black hair, his black, forbidding robes swirling around him like they could turn to darkness or smoke.

“You are expected to integrate and support your house, just as your house will integrate and support you. You will attend the house meetings and have already been informed of the prefect’s availability to you and your.. problems,” his face held cool neutrality for a moment longer, then it became cold, sharp, and gravely serious.

“I will not be drawn into any petty squabbles or tend to your sniffling homesickness, and you will quickly learn the prefects have a wealth of other duties to handle and little patience for pampering little worms trying to masquerade as serpents.” He looked them over again, just as sharply and measuring as before, and continued, “Expect, if you do come to me, to be asked if you already went to a prefect with your problem and if not why.”

His look and tone made clear an unsatisfactory answer would be met with dire consequences. All the same, his words also made clear he would take said answer into account. Riko just hoped strongly to not need his help with anything, ever. With a reserved nod he strode off, looking not just a little as if he was gliding, leaving them to stare after him quietly.

Gray jumped in then, explaining they better not lose their timetables as they were charmed to automatically display any changes of schedule and introducing the other prefects. Jessica Cueverdas, a friendly, spanish-looking girl, and Edmund Spiers, who had an easy smile and short blonde hair, were in fifth year. Maleficent Archer, who had an impressively long braid of pretty, auburn hair and a mischievous smirk, was the other seventh year prefect, and from the very neutral miens as Gray introduced her Riko decided to call her Archer, always.

Then they were sent to collect their books and supplies and herded to the Great Hall. Riko tried to remember the way but was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to find back alone, at least not easily. After a hearty breakfast Gray led them to the Charms classroom on the third floor. He told them to pay attention to the corridor as the classroom had a habit of wandering around in it, which was why it was called the Charms corridor.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher and head of house Ravenclaw, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. After taking a roll call he informed them that many things he would teach them this year would be very important not only for charms, but for learning and working any kind of spell. Then he set them to work pronouncing Latin words and practising the basic wand gestures, but insisted that they not do both at the same time yet.

Riko was very glad she’d used the Latin lingua loquendi: it definitely helped with her pronunciation and she had enough trouble getting used to the different wand gestures. When they filed out of the classroom, Archer was already waiting to accompany them to their next lesson, History of Magic, which they would share with Ravenclaw. She warned them, not to let Professor Binns bore them to sleep, insisting that the subject itself was very interesting.

“If you start getting bored, just note the first and last date and name he gives you. You can research what happened in-between yourself, and use the lesson time to do whatever else you like. Just don’t disturb the class,” she winked at them as she hurried off to her own class.

There was no sight of the Ravenclaw students yet, but as they were an uneven number Riko looked forward to sitting with Edie and made sure to take a desk close to the side the Ravenclaws would inhabit. Edie seemed quite pleased to sit with her. After the lesson started it didn’t take Riko long to see what Archer had meant. Professor Binns was a ghost, which should have been interesting, but his bland, monotone droning managed to make even the most harrowing battle sound as dull as raw tofu.

Riko used the lesson to have an extended whispered conversation with Edie. She learned that Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. After she’d shared Archer’s official prefect advice they talked about their houses and lessons so far, and arranged to meet early at breakfast tomorrow. Edie assured Riko she would tell Hermione during their shared Transfiguration class.

When Binns had finished his droning lecture for the day and floated away, Edmund led them to the Great Hall, asking how they found the lessons so far and insisting they start calling him Ed, which seemed to be half a prank and half serious. During lunch Targhin realized she’d forgotten to pack her Transfiguration book and Farley insisted on showing her a quick way back to the Lair. Riko quickly finished her meal and used the chance to tag along, hoping to properly learn a faster route before tomorrow morning.

Later, as she led them all to the Transfiguration classroom, Farley warned them all to be on their best behaviour and work extra hard. “It’s not just that Professor McGonagall is strict and demanding, she’s also head of house Gryffindor and has some serious prejudices against Slytherins. So don’t give her any excuses, alright?” Then she waved and was off.

Riko frowned in thought as she hesitated over where to sit, not that it did her any good. Professor McGonagall and the Hufflepuff group arrived at the same time, and the stern look of the deputy headmistress made everyone hasten to sit very quickly, leaving Riko alone. Then, before even starting, McGonagall gave them a serious talking to.

“Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts,” she said. “Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.”

Then she changed her desk into a goat and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn’t wait to get started, but soon realised they weren’t going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After making a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle.

It was extremely frustrating for Riko. She wasn’t just flummoxed by McGonagall’s notes, if she was honest they made her doubt her grasp of the English language entirely. Even worse, she was unable to make any sort of headway in turning the match to a needle. Given how turning innocent bits of wood or leaves into sharp blades was part of her known cantrips and tricks, it upset her greatly that using a wand it didn’t work at all. After covertly testing the switch to and back with her cantrip, closer relation after all, Riko tried channelling the same pattern of thought through her wand, only to have the match catch fire.

With a defeated sigh she thanked all the gods and spirits the lesson was over, and hurried to catch Vi before the Hufflepuff could run off. They’d made some gestures and faces at each other during the practical part of the lesson, but of course that didn’t do much in the way of communication.

Riko had only time to whisper “Early breakfast tomorrow, Great Hall!” before McGonagall found her burnt match and she hastened to hide behind the door.

Jake had already arrived and no one had delayed packing their things, so their group quickly set off towards the greenhouses for Herbology. It was the longest way so far and he used the chance to give them some hints. “Alright, first: remember, this year you will only go into greenhouse one, that’s where all the mostly harmless plants are kept,” he grinned and winked at ‘mostly harmless’ and Riko immediately wondered what sort of plants one might encounter in the other greenhouses, and of course about the mostly.

“Next thing: Professor Sprout is head of Hufflepuff, but she’s fair enough if you take some care. Act respectfully towards Hufflepuffs and her subject and plants, and she’ll treat you right as rain. That’s quite important, as she’s a good source of house points if she sees you apply yourself,” he eyed them seriously at the reminder of the goal to secure the house cup for the seventh time.

“Beside that, everything she teaches you is incredibly valuable for Potions, and I don’t think I need to remind you Professor Snape is quite keen on our house doing good in that particular subject. So pay attention, and quit with the long faces! Despite the pathetically boring book it’s a great subject. I’ll give you the titles of a few better volumes over the weekend.” He grinned at them again and waved them into the door to the greenhouse, then hurried on to his own lesson.

The greenhouse was pleasantly warm and slightly damp, relaxing and intriguing at once really, and Riko marvelled at the sheer number of plants. Professor Sprout’s teaching approach was entirely different from McGonagall’s. Instead of being stern and suspicious of her students she was cheerful and friendly, and she didn’t start jutting down incomprehensible notes on a blackboard either.

Instead she told them all about the real world uses, needs, and typical places of two very inconspicuous looking plants that were often used in combination, because they could either amplify or cancel out some of each other’s effects in several potions. Pointing out the ways to identify both Murkweed and Furgrass, and the different parts that could be used for different effects, she gave them enough time to record it in their own words. Then they were assigned in groups of two to re-pot a set of them, with the task of checking their roots and leaves.

Lannis earned five points for Slytherin when she noted that her roots were looking odd. After taking a look Professor Sprout told them it was a mildly poisonous mimicry plant and explained the properties of that species. When Jake arrived back from his Care of Magical Creatures lesson he complimented the girl and told them a bit of his own lesson as they walked back to the castle.

“Really, Professor Kettleburn is incredible. Today he showed us a couple of Ashwinders, they’re quite rare, here, and the root of many fire serpent myths. Also, the shells of their eggs are used in a number of potions. The man is utterly brilliant with reptiles, not that he has any problems with other creatures. Grand subject, really!”

He grinned with such enthusiasm that Riko was quite envious when he told them they’d have to wait until third year to take it. Asking what subject they’d need the book on magical creatures for, Riko learned it was used mainly in Potions and Herbology. Jake led them up to the library on the fourth floor and more or less left them to their own devices, busy with some work of his own. He had NEWTs this year and was clearly set to start early.

The room with the card registry also had a big parchment on the wall, giving a very general overview of what subjects could be found in what aisle, or rather in what group of aisles. Riko looked it over quickly, she usually had a good head for maps, and slunk out with the vague idea of scouting around a little. Libraries were usually good places to lie low and evade trouble, but for that to work you needed to know your way around.

She didn’t really get to it, though, because on the way she saw her three fellow Hogwarts-pirates-slash-friendlies, sitting on a table. Of course she had to greet them (properly quietly of course, Riko had some experience on how to act in a library, thank you very much) and they seemed happy enough to see her.

In the course of their whispered conversation, Riko learned that Hermione had asked a prefect of her house how to get here and Vi had come along after their last lesson, History of Magic. Edie had wanted to check out the library anyway and arrived first, hardly surprising as her last lesson had been Charms and thus closest to the library. None of them had got around to taking out any of the books yet, so Riko suggested they scout out the area.

Well, she suggested they have a look-around to see if they could find anything interesting but she had the feeling Vi read the scouting-out bit between the lines clear as day. The girl didn’t argue, just nodded a short “Sure.” and continued keeping to the background, leaving Riko to try and interact just right with Hermione and Edie. It was fun, if a bit stressful, adjusting her manners to the two clearly well-raised girls, who also clearly had a lot of interest in just about any and every book ever. Vi was definitely helpful though, with her occasional dry comments, otherwise they’d ’ve had to carry a damn lot of books before even clearing the first aisle.

Or canyon, really; much like the library in Diagon the shelves went so high even she had trouble making out their tops, if those were the tops, not just more outcrops. They didn’t manage to talk a lot of course, library, even in cover of the shelves, but it was wicked fun even so because this here was one library that was just plain fantastic, no other word for it. There was of course the magic that made the inside bigger than the outside at work here, it seemed not uncommon, a number of shops Riko had visited during the summer had that, so it couldn’t be too uncommon, but this here was a whole new level. So big was this enormous lair of books, Riko was literally unable to see any real end to it. And, well, it was also damn incredibly old, so the space-bending magic had been stacked or layered quite a few times, she’d bet.

Also, just from how winding and enticingly weird it all was, Riko had no doubt the metaphysical weight of all those books, so many of them with magic seeped right into them, was bending reality around it already, probably interacting in all sorts of fun ways with the magic that stretched the room. It certainly felt.. odd, not bad, really, just interesting, different, a little charged, and not the same way in each aisle, either. It was, in one word, fantastic.

They didn’t get away without some books, of course, despite Vi’s help in postponing Hermione and Edie’s urge to just take out every single book. Well, Hermione was clearly more experienced than Edie in respect to libraries, she actually memorized where the books that caught her fancy were. She also was good for exchanging exaggerated ‘Shhhhh’s at eerily random-yet-fitting times, Riko found, which was hilarious.

Anyway, their explorations were after a while bogged down by more and more books that had to be hauled around, so they returned to the tables. By that time the only tables still free were in full view of the librarian, so conversation was limited to occasional whispers, written notes, and eloquent looks. Well, and the occasional grimace or suppressed laughter, depending on who had just commented on what. The Student’s Code of Conduct, for example, had some plain hilarious passages.

It seemed like hardly any time had passed when Jake started rounding up the Slytherin first-years (well, made clear his expectation they follow him down) and Riko had to wave a hasty goodbye to her friendlies. She made sure to properly memorize the way to the Great Hall from the library and interact civilly with her housemates, who were again a different sort of breed altogether, and no, at least she herself wasn’t going to take that literally, seriously.

Over dinner talk had turned to families again, when Malfoy kept on asking Lannis if she was really, certainly muggle-born. The girl admitted not knowing all that much about her extended family but argued that there were probably many families in the Muggle world that might have a witch or wizard somewhere in their ancestry without knowing. After a while Targhin jumped into the fray and the discussion turned to hereditary properties as viewed on dogs and the applicability of such patterns and rules to humans, especially to the trait of magic.

On the way back to the Lair Riko hung back again, jutting down a very crude sort of map. Usually she was pretty good at memorizing her own steps and retracing her routes, but this castle wasn’t playing fair. From what Edie had said the coats of armour and the people in the paintings liked to move about, there were doors that wandered all over the school, doors that weren’t actually doors, simply playful walls with too much imagination, and at times, though not often, even the corridors changed their ways, as if they were playing labyrinth.

Still, noting anything that could be a hint should help, after all the chances that every single thing changed until tomorrow weren’t very high. When they’d all filed inside the Lair and Professor Snape’s apparently to-be-expected address to their entire house regarding civilized behaviour was finished, their group gravitated into the boy’s room.

The way led down a few stairs in a winding corridor, meaning the boys rooms were below the girls. Riko was sure there had to be something in between, from the number of steps, and its twists were decidedly different from the girls corridor, too. It was fascinating and begged for exploring, and she had no clue when she’d get to it, socially engaged as she was. They didn’t have any homework for Charms, History, or Herbology, and the consensus was that Transfiguration could wait as the next lesson would be on Wednesday.

Riko was a bit worried, she hadn’t understood anything at all during the lesson nor got to ask her friendlies, so as not to make them think she only wanted them around for their help. Well, and to seem less stupid, admittedly. But her yearmates made it clear they’d waited long enough with questions about her family and she couldn’t really argue with their reasoning.

As they settled on the beds, Lannis asked why they hadn’t used the girl’s room. It wasn’t bigger, but they had more beds and she could’ve started sorting her things, and was it really alright for them to be in the boys room. Parkinson grinned sharply, smugly, and was only too glad to illuminate.

“Yes, of course it’s alright, we’re not a bunch of backwards mane-brains after all. Everyone and the prefects saw us get in here and the dorm-wards prevent any privacy charms, so unless you’re suggesting a mute orgy, which, hm, might be a kink in a few years, but..”

“Oh my god, what are you.. you’re impossible!” Lannis was beet red, with her fair colouring it was visible even with her hands pressed over her cheeks in embarrassment.

There was some snickering and entertainment-masked-as-throat-problems around the room as everyone already had or was in the process of settling on some bed or other. Even with the clearly visible dynamic of putting-into-place it wasn’t mean-spirited though. Point made, Parkinson waved it off easily and Targhin, who seemed to have adopted their muggleborn yearmate, remained at ease.

“Oh, relax, I was just joking,” Parkinson smirked, “Well, mostly, who knows what any of us might want to try in a few years, hm?”

Malfoy rolled his eyes and elbowed her, although he was doing it in a rather friendly manner. It seemed to be expected, too, as she only shrugged and continued.

“But seriously, yes, we can visit each other’s rooms, or any one else’s rooms for that matter, although in that case you might want to be careful to be invited or risk running into privately added wards and hexes. Those are not stopped by the dorm-wards and as there’s no way to change those without literally shredding the rock Hogwarts is standing on.. anyway, I wanted to see Draco’s room.”

And make sure they all knew it, and where it was, too, was left unsaid but clear enough. With the easy shrug it added another few layers of claim and magnanimous queen and from the sedate reception nobody felt like rejecting any of it. It was accepted in an equanimous way that heralded tolerance more than potential followers but Pansy didn’t seem to mind that, which was also good. Nice and peaceful.

By now everyone was settled, Riko on one of the window-seats, so she’d be able to see everyone, the twins on Silvio’s bed, Crabbe had moved to Goyle’s bed to make room for Targhin and Lannis and Zabini had gallantly offered a seat on his bed to Bulstrode. Riko nervously cleared her throat, drawing her legs up so she could sit cross legged and propped her elbows on her knees.

“Alright then. Parkinson, you said you’d help me out, so you’ll be the one who gets to ask questions. But before I start telling anything: what’s the deal with those dorm-wards? Clearly you have a thing for them, so share, please, ’cause it’s the first I hear of that..?”

Her cheeky grin was only half fake, Riko really thought it sounded absolutely fascinating, how would one manage to embed any sort of ward so deeply into living rock? Also, what was the effect? There was clearly a story behind it and it was a good opportunity to show off some more, so..

“Gladly,” Parkinson said, clearly in her element and very smug, too. “Like any legend there are of course various accounts but it’s a famous Slytherin matter, so there’s some solid ground to count on. Really early, when the founders were still here, there was some assault on one Slytherin and her attackers used among other things privacy charms to keep it quiet but of course it came out and they were thrown out, disowned and everything.”

“They were of course muggleborn and she became one of the most famous witches to be given patronage by Slytherin himself, took lead of the house and all, which is why she’s always called Mary Petra of Slytherin, ’cause she kept her mother’s name and of course after that Slytherin and the new head-of-house that he set up after the drama worked to make sure something like that wouldn’t happen again.”

“There’s no record on how exactly they did it, only rumours there was some argument with Gryffindor about it, after, because Slytherin said just making the female dorms inaccessible to males was no solution. There’s no casting any sort of privacy-spells, y’know, affecting an area, nowhere in the dorms. You can still ward your stuff and the like, of course, and hex people in general, but certain effects are going to trigger a notice, get a prefect to show up.”

That was, while not very exact information, definitely interesting and good to know, but it didn’t explain why Parkinson was almost glowing with smugness, although she didn’t add any more. Malfoy beside her rolled his eyes when Riko only looked questioning instead of actually asking anything; she’d already done that earlier, after all.

“By it’s an old Slytherin matter she means the Parkinsons trace their line back to Mary Petra,” he said drily, with an air of long-suffering patience, “which is the real reason she kept that story in mind.”

“Oh, please, it’s not just a story, it’s history, and knowing about the wards is only smart,” Parkinson said airily with another throw-away gesture, clearly pleased but comparatively more contained about it than Malfoy had been so far about his own family. She also ended the subject by fixing her look on Riko, raising an expectant eyebrow. “Besides I expect we’ll be getting a good story right now, the Slyver name is pretty well-known, even with their vanishing trick some years ago..”

Telling her story again was easier than Riko’d thought. The questions were a bit of a challenge, as she wanted to stick to the literal truth without actually telling the truth, but her housemate picked up on her unease, and after a while tactfully moved the talk to other subjects, and soon had them all sharing nicknames or at least given names.

Thus everyone learned that Draco, Silvio and Cynthia wanted to be called by their first name, while Parkinson preferred her second name, Antonia. So did Targhin, who liked her second name, Farrah, much better. Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini wanted to be know by their last names, although they were alright with being called their first names in Slytherin compan,y while Bulstrode, Perdita and Riko requested to be called actual nicknames, introducing themselves as Em, Dita and Riko respectively.

Then everyone had to tell a humorous story, and when Gray knocked on the door to tell them it was time for lights out, they were in high spirits. Riko was impressed by the crafty way Parkinson, well, Antonia had steered the conversation all evening and in the process formed them into an actual group, even if it was a loose one. Lying in bed, she resolved to both learn from the girl and do her a good turn, should a situation present itself.

*

Although it was exhausting to have to directly and continually interact with so many people, all in all Riko was in mostly good spirits for the rest of the week.

To combat the weirdness of so many people getting to see and know stuff about her, she made liberal use of Obscurantis and headed directly for bed when the library closed at nine and everyone had to be inside their houses, to catch at least a little time to herself. It was equally odd to hardly see Korra, but the raven returned to the open cage on her bedside table with regularity to spend the night, giving Riko a pleasant fraction of normalcy.

So did her exploration of the local roofs, which was at least as necessary as it had been in London. Roofs were roofs, after all, and it wouldn’t do not to know their routes. Not to mention that it gave her the mental strength to keep up this whole permanent part of society act, which was madly taxing despite the weeks of training. In fact it made, at times, her skin crawl to spend so much time inside a building, and the same one all the time, too.

The last years Riko had only ever spent time inside, or even just in reasonable cover, if the weather required it. And not left her things where people would know to look. Nor lugged about as much property, simply on account of getting by as was. Sometimes she really had to fight the urge to just up and run out, to stop the feeling of being caught in some prison, the walls closing in, everyone watching her and no way out.

Luckily, the castle seemed determined to hardly ever behave the same way twice, which was distracting, entertaining, and helped immensely. There was also the utterly strange and unpleasant novelty of having outside influence dictate the whole course of her day, and on a regular basis, too. But Riko had had teachers before, though far more flexible ones, and she was determined to stick through this. It was a little like being in training with Shizuka-sensei again, but thanks to the many differences, such as the great number of other students and the very different customs, she managed to not think on this, much.

Her three friendlies helped, all different shades of interesting, not to forget the sheer amount she had to learn, not just in lessons but also in the correct ways to interact with them, as much as with anyone else in this odd castle. Everyone of their little group had managed to come early to breakfast on Tuesday and they had a pleasant time of it. Well, as soon as they moved to the Hufflepuff table.

Hermione had been first to the Great Hall, so Riko had headed over to her, Edie on her heels, when one Percy Weasley interrupted. He was a Gryffindor fifth-year, a prefect, and also rather annoying, Riko thought. Hermione said he’d been quite friendly to her so far, but he obviously drew the line at the idea of non-Gryffindors sitting on the house table.

Considering how early it was, and how practically nobody else was currently sitting there, it really was a bit silly, but it seemed to be a matter of principle with him. Riko didn’t want to make trouble for a friendly, and certainly not with a prefect, after her own prefect’s introductory speech, so she made a point of being very polite to him even as he chased them off. Besides, by then Vi had shown up and waved them over to her table.

There were more people seated here than on any other table despite the early hour, yet none of them seemed to mind them sitting down on their table. Both Riko and Hermione had remembered to take their copy of The Princess Bride along to loan them out, but talk turned to ghosts quickly, when Riko saw the ghost that looked like a short, fat monk talk to a couple of older Hufflepuffs on the other end of the table.

Vi noticed her curious look in the direction and gave a light bump with her elbow. “Don’t stare, please, it’s not polite y’know.”

Riko shot her a look at the words, slightly apologetic but also amused. Considering the last person, well, being, that had told her exactly this, she was far more willing to take the rebuke from a girl that managed to infuse a bare murmur with dry tolerance, and keep a completely straight face over it too.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to either. Just curious, who’s he? And why’d he be interested in talking to people if he’s a spirit. I mean, not even Binns is interested in talking to people, he’s just lecturing at them, you already had him yesterday, right..?”

Vi snorted and nodded. “Yeah, nearly fell asleep, and I wasn’t even tired. Only Hermione saved me from death through boredom..” she threw a grin at the Gryffindor girl, who smiled back conspiratorially.

For some odd reason Riko felt almost, only almost really, envious of whatever joke they shared. But her Hufflepuff continued, giving Riko a quick, almost-but-only-almost-invisible smile, absurdly eyes-only, which made it all better immediately.

“He’s the Friar,” Vi said, “well, his nickname’s Fat Friar, and he said he doesn’t mind it, but still. He was a monk, or rather a brother actually, and he knows an incredible shitload of things about Herbology and such. So whenever people have a question about something of the sort they go to him. Far as I know he accidentally poisoned himself during some research or other a few hundred years ago and decided to stay around to learn more and stay current..”

Riko was officially impressed. “Wow, that’s cool. Far as I know the Bloody Baron is never around and he’s supposed to be the Slytherin house ghost. Not that I think he’d be interested in being helpful to just about anyone..” She made a sour face as she remembered the odd spirit. If he even counted as spirit, the local ghosts didn’t seem much like spirits to her, more like very strange people who lacked real bodies.

“Sir Nick is rather helpful, Percy said,” Hermione shrugged at their looks regarding her source and the name. “Well, it’s better than calling him Nearly Headless Nick, that’s his well, nickname, stop grinning Riko.”

She huffed good-naturedly at Riko’s immediate expression of innocence and went on, “I think it’s really rude to call your own house spirit that, just because his beheading was botched up, and of course his real name was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington which is hardly better and not just because it’s so long. But anyway, he likes to move about so if you get lost he can give you directions, which is just one more reason to be polite to him, I mean..”

“Yeah, we get what you mean, Hermione,” Edie smiled conciliatorily. “Lea said the Grey Lady is sort of hard to get but real good fun if you do. She lived during the Renaissance, dunno exactly when, and was or, well, is rather keen on duelling and researching words of different languages for use in spells. I haven’t seen her yet, though, seems she’s often hard to find because she gets caught up in something or other and forgets to show up for a while..”

“Hah, yeah, and she doesn’t have to eat and probably not even sleep so that makes it real hard, ey?” Riko grinned. “My uncle Kal’s legendary for getting _real_ focussed on some subject or research and forgetting everything else, but he has to eat and sleep and stuff. Imagine you have someone like that and they don’t even notice such things any more..”

They shared a grin over their full breakfast plates and quickly ate up, not being ghostly at all, thank the gods. Then Riko had first period free and used it to read up on Charms, the subject of the second. Having gone through the basics yesterday, Professor Flitwick was now teaching them the basic principles and mechanics of spells in general and charms in particular.

He asked them questions to get them to thinking and then lead them in the right direction, making the lesson resemble a discussion. This was the sort of lesson Riko was used to and she enjoyed both learning the subject and earning a few points through her participation. She didn’t even mind that Defence against the Dark Arts in the afternoon turned out to be a rather bad joke. The classroom smelled strongly of garlic, and whenever he was asked a question Quirrell’s stutter increased until he was barely understandable. He was also prone to breaking out in nervous, high-pitched laughter at odd points in the course of his lecture, losing the thread of whatever he’d said before it. It made the lesson quite thoroughly useless.

Taking the same approach as with History of Magic, Riko only noted down the subjects of the day and found better things to do. Luckily the class was combined with Hufflepuff, giving her the chance to chat with Vi. The Hufflepuff was able to explain some of the notes from Transfiguration but admitted she had some problems with it herself.

Herbology was again very interesting and relaxed, and when they all met afterwards at the Hufflepuff table, no matter that dinner was still way off, both Edie and Vi were waiting there already. They’d used their free fourth period to read a fair chunk of The Princess Bride and were conclusively in a very good mood. Astronomy at midnight was alright, though Riko wasn’t sure it would have been as interesting without Edie sitting beside her. Studying the night skies and learning the names of different stars and the movements of the planets seemed to have little practical, imminent use, after all.

On Wednesday she had again first period free, and again tried to work on Transfiguration. It was a good thing she had History of Magic in the second period, so that Edie could explain to her what the incomprehensible notes were supposed to mean. Thus Riko was able to hand in her homework and understand the next lesson with McGonagall for about ten minutes before becoming completely confused again. At least now she knew that it was likely a problem of the professor being naturally incomprehensible and could take it in stride.

Usually her fourth period would have been Herbology again, but Professor Sprout had already told them last lesson it’d be cancelled because the witch was busy on some important project for the headmaster. This meant they all had their fourth period free, and on account of the brilliant weather they spent the time until dinner exploring the grounds outside the castle.

When they did the same on Thursday, they caught the eye of Hagrid. They’d just rounded a thick hedge past the greenhouses when they saw an enormous black boarhound loping towards them. Hagrid was still a ways off and upon seeing them started to run in their direction. Riko was with Edie the front of their group, and she fully expected to be bowled over by the massive dog.

Instead it made such a hasty break just a yard from them, that it almost fell over it’s own legs. When the panting ground keeper arrived, Edie was still petting the dog. He had rolled over and presented his throat and was now enjoying the way she was expertly rubbing his belly.

“Hello, Mr. Hagrid, good to meet you!” Edie straightened and after wiping off dog drool on her jeans offered her hand to the enormous man. Riko kept busy with the dog, after all the other girl seemed to already know a few things about the man from her sister, better to let her handle first introductions. Offering her hand for the giant dog to sniff, she kept her attention on that, only glancing from the corners of her eyes at the ground keeper and the others.

“Err, yeah, good t’meet yeh,” the big man puffed, slightly out of breath, and Edie used the chance to continue.

“Lea told some awesome stories about you. Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Edie Eohyrde, she said I should give you her best regards and greetings. She said you gave her all sorts of great hints about Care of Magical Creatures.”

Vi and Hermione had at first paused a few feet behind them, but curiosity about the conversation and the ground keeper drew them in to huddle around the great beast. The dog’s obvious friendliness was a great cover, after all. It had licked Riko’s hand excitedly after a short sniff, and she was happy to let the two distract him. It allowed her to concentrate on the conversation she had so far only overheard with half an ear.

The giant man seemed pleased at Edie’s introduction. “Ah, Lea’s little sister, are yeh,” he boomed, “Thought ye looked a bit familier!” He took her hand and shook Edie’s whole arm. “Fang must’a recognized yer scent, he’s always a big lump fer getting pets. Usually stays on his legs though!”

By then Riko had straightened and wiped her hand as well. Hagrid was smiling down at them warmly and he certainly seemed an interesting man to know. Edie was for some reason flustered now, though she hid it pretty well, so Riko decided to jump into the fray.

“Good day, Mr. Hagrid, pleased to meet you,” she bowed deeply with a cheery smile, eyeing him curiously. He really was impressive. She had to lean back her head to look him in the eyes, glinting like black beetles and almost hidden behind his enormous mass of hair and beard. They sparkled with mirth as he shook her hand – and entire arm – as well.

“Ah, yer the Slyver kid, aye! Saw ye sorted, the white hair’s mem’rable, a’right.” He eyed her just as inquisitively as she had, but somehow Riko didn’t mind. He didn’t seem to have an agenda, he was simply curious, just like she.

“Knew yer Dad fer a bit! Now he was a trickster, in and out’a School. Must’ve found a hell of a woman, what with you an’ all..” he beamed down at her, as if in approval, but interrupted himself to greet Vi and Hermione as they introduced themselves, which she appreciated. Nice as it was, the idea of any more locals having had contact with Da was just weird. Riko resolutely forced her mind to stay on track and in the situation, which helped.

“Good ter meet ye, and stop it with the Mr!” Hagrid was saying, “Hagrid’ll do jest fine. Now, y’all, what are ye running ’round the grounds for like that, shouldn’t ye be busy learning? I saw ye yesterday already, too!” He tried to look stern, but couldn’t quite hide a broad smile in his beard.

“Oh, but the weather’s just way to great for that, and we have no homework for tomorrow, and then we have the whole weekend!” Riko grinned as she gestured to show just how extensive she thought the weekend to be. “’Sides, we’re going to explore everything, and make a map of anything great we find. So ’f course we have to run around all over the entire grounds, it’s vital for our mission!”

If there was one thing Riko tended to be serious about, beside of course obtaining whatever she’d currently set out for, it was having fun. And standing here, in the fine weather, with those three, well, that was incredible fun, even more so when she announced (and thus strengthened) their common goal to an interesting new person.

Hagrid seemed to appreciate both her fine mood and her enthusiastic presentation of their goal, judging from his booming, good-natured chuckle. The other three girls seemed slightly surprised but also amused at Riko’s antics, which started a nice glow of contentment in her gut. It also made her look forward with glee to all the mischief and fun they could get up to in the future.

“A’right then,” Hagrid said,”I ken understand that, aye. I’ll wish ye the best o’ luck with it, then. If yer not ta busy bein’ grand explorers, ye can knock on me door on the weekend, might be I could show yeh a few interesting places.” His small, beetle-black eyes were shining with laughter and his beard was twitching slightly as he said it.

Riko had to close her open mouth with a snap to utter a heartfelt “Fantastic! Thanks!”

Before she could find back to anything resembling eloquence he had nodded and waved at them. “Got ter get back to work now, yeh run along and don’t forget the Forbidden Forest’s Forbidden without a staff member along! Take a care!” He ambled off with big steps, whistling sharply for Fang when the dog was reluctant to leave his new source of pats.

“Well, that was great luck!” Riko grinned, filled with fresh energy and purpose at the spontaneous appearance of such a great opportunity. She clapped Edie on the shoulder enthusiastically. “Well done, knowing about him from your sister. Fantastic! Just think of all the stuff he could show us, he IS the keeper of the grounds!”

They spent the rest of the day exploring the edge of the Forbidden Forest and when it was time for lights-out they parted in high spirits. Tomorrow they had the entire afternoon free, and they wanted to check the cliff by the lake for any hidden entrances and corridors into the small tunnel their boats had taken.

*

When they met for a picnic lunch next day, Riko was still a little embarrassed, although Hermione was in a good mood. She’d been curious about Potions, seeing how it was her head of house teaching and, well, it hadn’t been boring. One thing was very clear from the start: he had a very short temper and no patience for what he considered incompetence.

The lesson took place down in one of the dungeons, rather close to their house entrance. It was dry and cool, more so than in their rooms, and there were lots of pickled or dried animals and plants floating in glass jars all around the walls. As he took a register, like Professor Flitwick, he also took a very thorough look at each student with his intense, calculating eyes, and like McGonagall he gave them a stern speech before he even started the lesson.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,” he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

“As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

After that he immediately started throwing questions, picking Potter as his first hapless target. The upside was that his notes were much more easy to comprehend than McGonagall’s. The downside was that he clearly disliked Gryffindors immensely, and seeing how they shared the subject it made for an awkward lesson. At least for Riko, who had sat beside Hermione.

It was a good thing the potion master’s dislike was centered mostly on Potter. Not that Riko found herself disagreeing. The boy was both clueless and rude. He’d been staring at her more obvious than any other student she’d seen all week, kept whispering with Ron Weasley beside him while they looked over at Hermione and her, probably trading rude comments about them, and she’d heard they’d gotten caught trying to sneak into the closed of corridor on the very first day of lessons.

But anyway, when the famous boy who lived for unknown reasons wasn’t able to answer Professor Snape’s questions, Riko and Hermione traded in raising their hands. Then Dita and Silvio had joined in and Riko withdrew to let Hermione get more slots for answers and thus points.

Potter managed to lose half of them just by being near the explosion of a potion Neville had caused, but the Gryffindor girl seemed insanely pleased with the two points she’d won. Professor Snape had awarded the Slytherins far more for their answers and, well, Potter hadn’t actually done anything to lose that point. When Riko asked her about it quite bluntly while they were exiting the castle after the lesson, Hermione blushed but laughed.

“Well, everyone said first years never get points from Professor Snape unless they’re in Slytherin. I mean, he was so obvious about favouring his house, it makes me feel like I just won an entire war or something, you know?” she said with a mischievous grin, then threw her thick mane of curls while looking around before going on.

“And seriously, that first question you answered, about the asphodel and wormwood? Professor Sprout mentioned it just yesterday in Herbology. I really can’t say I’m impressed with Harry Potter so far, he seems completely clueless, and he really could’ve warned Neville about putting the quills in while it’s still over the fire. I certainly would’ve.”

She huffed a little and Riko smiled. Hermione seemed to have as little patience as the potions master with people not knowing things she thought they should know. Neville’s partner had been some other Gryffindor, not Potter, but Riko didn’t see any gain of pointing out either. Vi and Edie were already waiting with a big basket and they had a pleasant lunch of sandwiches and pumpkin juice and tea by the lake.

By evening they had not managed to find a way into the tunnel from the lake, because the little boats were not where they had arrived on their first evening, nor anywhere else to be found. They had however managed to explore the cliff-side, finding a number of comfortable rocks for sitting, some small caves, and plants of wormwood, furgrass and, lower down by the water, some murkweed. All in all it had been an enjoyable day, and as they said their good-byes for the night agreed to meet for early breakfast tomorrow.


	8. Not Looking for Trouble, Are We?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring does of course not mean one goes about looking for trouble. Sometimes it’s just there, you know, specially when one isn´t expecting it.

On Saturday morning Riko was amazed how few people were in the Great Hall for breakfast. Their little group had gathered at the usual time and place, Hufflepuff table, and they finished eating quickly after realizing they drew some questioning looks from the few teachers present (really just Professor Snape, McGonagall, and two other witches they didn’t know).

Working together on their homework in the library they were almost done by the time it was going on lunch. By then more and more students were arriving and they decided to finish tomorrow. Riko found it incredible how easy Transfiguration became when explained by Edie and Hermione. The principles were deceptively simple but the application was always tricky and the, to her odd-seeming, descriptions in their notes were the exact opposite of helpful.

McGonagall had to be thinking in a different language, one that Edie and Hermione had no trouble understanding. It was a good thing they could translate for Riko and Vi, although the Hufflepuff needed less help. It was now that Riko started to really appreciate the notes in the book she had bought used.

Whoever had owned it before had at least a slightly more sensible way of thinking than the professor. They had also noted down other useful books on the content covered in the separate chapters and that gave her hope those would make it easier, once acquired. After an early, hurried lunch, again at the Hufflepuff table, they headed for Hagrid’s hut.

The weather was slightly overcast and a fresh wind blowing, making them glad they had left their robes in the castle and were again in their normal after-class clothes and jackets. Vi had taken to just tying her hair back and lost her fancy vest, wearing a simple wide shirt and neat, deceptively smple-looking jacket whenever she was without her robes, but somehow lost none of her air of gentleman duellist in the process. Maybe it was the knee-long trousers or her switching to leather boots instead of her initial fancy shoes that made her look so musketeer, but Riko envied her just a little, though she was mostly very curious.

When they’d almost reached the small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they saw a very big crossbow and a pair of galoshes hang outside the front door, so Hagrid was clearly in. Before they could even get to knock the giant caretaker exited his hut, Fang trailing after him. That is, until he saw them. Then the giant dog bounded over and dropped to the ground, whining and begging and wriggling on his back and around again to be petted.

“Ah, hullo there,” Hagrid greeted them with a smile as they all said their hellos. “Fang’s really taken to ye, that’s fer sure,” he chuckled. “Now, I wanted ter show ye sum’a the local folks in th’stables, s’time I give’m a thorough check-up again. Thought ye might want ter tag along. But the weather’s going right bad and I still gotta sort some things in th’ Forest,” he smiled apologetically. “I’ll be doing ’em stables tomorrow, if ye like ye can show up the same time here then.”

Riko blinked once, then she shared a look with the others. It was instant agreement. With a cheerful grin she stepped forward and crossed her arms. “Aye, we’ll be here same time tomorrow, for sure. But seeing how you’re a staff member, and certainly the one most experienced when it comes to the forest, we’ll just follow you around today as well.”

“Now, look here, that’s..” the big man looked at them worriedly.

Edie joined in, presenting a pair of puppy-dog eyes that had Riko in awe. “Oh, please, Hagrid! Lea said you know the forest like the back of your hand and Fang’s coming along, and it’s bright daylight, too!”

“Well, yes, but yer just firs..”

“Just think of us as little helpers, tagging along to carry your kit. It’ll be like we’re your apprentices and we’re really fast learners and can help you out with all sorts of small things!” Hermione said all this very fast and looked about as excited as she had after earning her first point in Potions.

It seemed to be a look that was hard to resist, judging from Hagrid’s reaction. Riko certainly would have agreed to anything Hermione suggested with such a face, but she admitted to being biased. He threw up his hands and huffed an amused sigh, looking at Vi.

“Ye know yer friends are all nuts, right?”

The Hufflepuff grinned drily. “Of course. And we’ll just keep badgering you until you give in. After all, they may be crazy but they’re also right. It’s a brilliant opportunity for everyone involved: you get helpers, we get a tour of the Forbidden Forest by the staff-member best suited to it.”

He chuckled at that. “A’right then, a’right. Let’s get the kit and get going...”

He divided up the gear he’d need into four bags and they followed him in a close group, Fang trailing behind them. They did indeed learn a lot on the way, as Hagrid was fond of telling interesting stories about whatever met their path and readily answered their many questions.

The “Forbidden Forest” was apparently, at least in the “less foresty parts y’know”, which Riko did not but didn’t want to interrupt, a bit like the magical equivalent of a nature preserve. According to Hagrid, subtle wards had been set up ages ago, separating certain areas. The wards were not actual barriers but encouraged the creatures within not to cross over.

It let Hagrid and his predecessors keep antagonistic creatures safe from each other. For example, dire wolves and unicorns did not get along well at all, and allowing either group easy access to the other was just begging for trouble. The wards also helped ensure that dangerous creatures didn’t leave the Forest.

“O’ course, the wards don’t do so well, th’ smarter ye are,” Hagrid concluded.

“Smarter?” Hermione threw him a curious look.

“Well, fer example, there’s a herd of centaurs in there. They’re just as smart as wizards, smarter, by the way they tell it. They know about th’ wards, they just don’t pay them any mind. Truth be told, I think they appreciate how it keeps some of the things they don’t like tied down.”

Hagrid huffed and his face crinkled in amusement as he looked at them with laughter dancing in his black eyes. “The wards also don’t keep students out of the Forest and no matter what we tell ’em, a couple always wander in over th’ course of a year.. usually make it out again, too. Mind ye, accidents ken always happen, so I’ll thank ye t’keep mum about me taking ye along. No need to encourage anyone...”

“Of course, that goes without saying! We wouldn’t want to cause you any hassle when you’d have to find them.” Riko grinned cheerfully up at Hagrid as if that had been clear from the very start. It had been to her, but she now realized she should perhaps have mentioned it earlier.

When he clapped her shoulder, she almost keeled over, but she appreciated it all the same as he chuckled again. “Ah, yer alright kids, ye are. Now we’ll be in the unicorn glade right soon. There’s been a foal this year, which is a big thing with them, so be careful not to give any offence. Ye all got yer magnifying glasses and tweezers ready?”

They did, and once they were in the glade and Hagrid had introduced them carefully to the present unicorns they used them to gather stray hairs from the vegetation. When they headed to the next area, Hagrid explained that unicorn hair was not just used for wands, it was an important ingredient in many potions and could be used to make bandages that prevented or even treated infection. And on they went, and on, and on.

When they had at last finished their round and exited the cover of the forest, they were greeted by harsh boughs of wind, the sky a stormy tumble of dark grey clouds crawling all over each other. It was also past dinner, which was a pity because with all the walking and lifting, listening, learning, and other sorts of helping they had worked up quite an appetite.

They could of course sneak into the kitchens, but they were all knackered and Riko worried a bit about them getting caught, distracted and tired as they were. Hagrid took a sniff and a look at the sky and shooed them into his hut.

“Come on in then, come on in. Still got enough time fer a nice dinner ’fore lights-out, eh? Make yerselves at home.” He winked and crossed over to the fireplace in the corner, waving distractedly for them to sit.

The three chairs at his big scrubbed wood table were as enormous as he and Riko seated herself next to Vi on one, while Hermione and Edie shared the other. It felt good to sit.

The inside of the hut was one large, cosy room. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was starting to boil on the open fire and in a corner stood a massive bed with a pretty patchwork quilt over it. Fang had flopped into a big basket beside the door with a chequered blanket in it.

As he moved about, Hagrid talked non-stop, as if he wasn’t used to having guest and embarrassed about it now. “S’not much, mind ye, but it’s home ’nd I ken hardly jus’ send ye back without dinner after ye helped me, shouldn’t have dawdled as much, forgot all about you having t’go t’dinner an’all and th’ forest’s always a bit tetchy with time, must’a got distracted, s’a’right, usually, if ye pay attention..”

He was puttering about, getting plates and cups, taking one of the massive hams down and cutting thick pieces off it, setting them on a grill over the fire until they sizzled. Taking some brown crusty bread from a box and a big wedge of cheese from a separate cupboard, he started cutting off thick slices off them as well. Shortly before he took the ham from the fire he set the bread beside it to toast it a little. It was simple but smelled incredibly tasty already.

Riko shared a look with the others only for them to look back tiredly and a little unsure. She sighed and stretched, then scratched the back of her head before blurting out

“Oh, can it, Hagrid, this is awesome and it’s really great you took us along and dinner smells awesome and I think your place is brilliant. It’s cosy, it has everything you need, and if you don’t want us visiting you here at your place, you can just say it now, because otherwise we will. Visit you, that is..”

She trailed off, unnerved when everyone stared at her, including Hagrid. “Er, this wasn’t meant to be threat or anything..?” Riko tried to come up with a way to start a normal conversation from this mess, but nothing came to mind, making her blush with embarrassment.

Vi beside her snorted drily before coming to her rescue. “I think what our blunt and confused friend is trying to say is, we are very grateful for you taking us along and inviting us into your home to feed us what smells like a delicious dinner,” she smiled warmly at Hagrid.

Even with the very proper wording her smile made her look younger than her usual calm and controlled face and Riko noted how the girl was indeed looking quite relaxed now. Hermione immediately agreed vocally and Edie tried to apologize for the hold-up at their last stop. Like the unicorns, the dire wolves had for some reason fussed about her immensely, and had needed much placating and posturing on Hagrid’s part to let her enter their clearing.

Hagrid waved this away distractedly. “Eh, them wolves are always moody. Always takes a while with ’em and th’ route was long as it were, didn’t make no diff’rence.” Then he poured the boiling water in a tea pot and continued with a happy smile. “Ah, yer good kids, that’s fer sure. Ye can visit any time, jest make sure ye don’t get in any trouble over it.”

The pensive mood was broken and the dinner progressed in cheerful conversation. Riko at first held back a bit, cataloguing all the observed clues. Making a fool of yourself was usually a good way to break tension, yes, but even more so combined with a partner like Vi. Who had just called her a friend, huh. Although, after Hagrid’s words before they’d started, maybe she was just being smart, as Riko had been so far.

They were friendly, of course, but they didn’t even know each other properly, the four of them, and Riko thought she wasn’t the only one being just a little on guard or at least occasionally unsure. By then her seat partner was looking at her thoughtfully but relented when Riko re-entered the conversation with an easy smile to ask if there were any dragons living in the forest.

Unfortunately there weren’t, Hagrid sighing wistfully as he answered her. “Saw one hatch, once. Great, they are. But they’re too smart for the wards in the forest, and would cause no end of trouble, relations and regulations an’ all.”

He sighed again and something about the comment tickled Riko’s memory, but she just couldn’t remember what. Absently she looked around the table and noticed a page from the Daily Prophet lying about. Distractedly she read over it:

_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown._

_Gringotts’ goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._

“ _But we’re not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what’s good for you,” said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._

It was from an older edition, she’d read it, too. Riko still felt some excitement, and a pang of disappointment, that someone had actually managed to break into the bank and get away with it before her. Eliria-sensei had once said it was the safest place for anything, generally accepted as being uncrackable. Even if whoever it was hadn’t gotten what they wanted.

She remembered that she’d spent the afternoon people-watching, after meeting her spellfather, hah, and Vi! She hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary at the time. It was a mystery, that was for sure, but why did Hagrid have the article still lying about his table? Why had he even cut it out? She looked up and saw him engaged in conversation with Edie and Hermione, waving his hand excitedly and something popped into her memory.

“Hagrid, were you in Diagon Alley on the last of July?” she asked before her brain caught up to her mouth. Damn. At least she managed to move the article behind the kettle so that it wasn’t visible from his side of the table.

“It’s just, I just remembered I saw someone who looked a lot like you in the Leaky Cauldron, ’round noon? I was just passing through and people were talking at the bar and..” She smiled apologetically at him. “Erm, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt...”

“Err, yeah, had some errands fer Dumbledore, get school stuff and the like fer.. anyway, yeah, didn’t notice you at all though.” He eyed her with something that resembled trepidation and she blinked. With a grin she waved it off. “Well, I was in a bit of a hurry and just rushed through and everyone was at the bar talking, that’s why I remembered just now.”

“Your mind certainly works in mysterious ways if you just now remembered you had seen Hagrid before.” Vi teased her with a grin, and Riko huffed and emptied her cup of tea, looking away. Again given an out by Vi, she noted absently.

Her seat partner had noticed the article and her hurriedly hiding it but only looked thoughtfully at her, keeping quiet. Riko wondered when Vi would corner her about it, or if she felt she shouldn’t pry, being rather private herself.

However, now Hagrid realized just how late it was getting and insisted on quickly escorting them to the school. It was still storming outside and irregular boughs of rain were continually blown into them from all directions. When they arrived at the entrance hall, Hagrid gave them a stern look as they stood dripping and shivering.

“Now, ye hurry it up and get to yer common rooms pronto ter get warm again. I’ll see ye tomorrow then. G’night now!” With that he ambled back out into the ugly weather again, leaving them to look a bit uncertainly at each other.

“Tomorrow at breakfast again, then?” Riko asked, hiding her cold hands in her crossed arms. Everyone agreed and they departed with warm g’nights, Hermione and Edie hurrying up the main stairs as it wasn’t long until lights out, Vi and Riko heading down into the dungeons.

Vi was silent and Riko didn’t know what to say to that, so they were comfortably quiet as they walked along. When their ways separated, Riko warmly clapped the other girl on the shoulder with yet another “Good night then!” before hurrying back to the lair. She thought she heard the other girl stand still and watch her depart for a little, but she wasn’t sure because she had resolutely not looked back.

Deep in thought and uncomfortably damp and cold, Riko distractedly greeted her housemates and made for an early bed. The next day brought an increase in the miserable weather. The storm had grown over night and during lunch at the Hufflepuff table, a small, bedraggled owl flopped down between their plates, bearing a soggy note from Hagrid.

_Have to look over the storm damages in the forest this afternoon and in that weather I won’t take you along either. Just visit whenever you like once the weather gets better._

_Hagrid_

Having already finished all their homework, even prepared for their subjects in advance, this left them at loose end for all of a few seconds. Then it was decided they should try to properly explore the school as they had so far had little chance to do so. It seemed like only a few hours before it was dinner time and only a few minutes after that until lights out, so much was there to explore.

According to Hermione and her copy of Hogwarts a History, the school had a hundred and forty-two staircases. Riko wasn’t quite sure if this was true, but there were certainly lots of them: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on different days of the week; some with vanishing steps somewhere in their number that you had to jump over. Then there were doors that wouldn’t open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and of course the doors that were actually walls having a bit of fun or, conversely, doors that liked to pretend at being wall. The rooms, the coats of armour and the portraits liked to move about as well, though at least the backgrounds in the paintings stayed the same, even if their occupants visited each other.

The few ghosts they saw always seemed very uninterested in them, so they decided to ignore them right back. Beside Hermione’s house ghost he most notable exception to this was Peeves, the poltergeist, who was always interested in pestering whoever he ran across. You always had to expect him to drop waste-paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose and screech, “GOT YOUR CONK!”

Annoying as this could be, Riko saw it as something of a challenge in pranking. She was also madly curious how he managed to do all those tricks and what exactly the difference of being a poltergeist was. However, when she asked him outright, after he’d landed them all on their backs in the charms-corridor by pulling the rug, he only laughed insanely and zoomed off.

“Sheesh, really, that’s what comes to your mind after he crashes us all into a heap..?” Vi made a face and rubbed her back.

She actually seemed a bit put out, which was odd for her. Riko hastily moved to help her up with a very gallant gesture and a worried look. “Well, I’m a curious feller, don’tcha know. But seriously, are you alright? Did you land badly? We can go to the hospital wing..”

“Hmf, nah, ’s a’right..” Vi waved it off, dusting herself off and rubbing gingerly, of all things, her arm.

When she caught Riko looking she just raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to make something of it, obviously still in a right temper. Riko raised her hands in a placating manner, ready to charm her into a better mood any way possible, when Filch descended on them like a particularly bad-tempered vulture, going on about students creating disorder everywhere and what-not.

They beat a hasty retreat to the library then; exploring was hardly much fun with the grumpy scarecrow of a man trailing after them, muttering suspiciously to either himself or his cat, who was now slinking along beside him. She was called Mrs Norris and just like her human she looked like she’d seen better days, a long, long time ago; a scrawny, dust-coloured creature, with bulging, lamp-like eyes, just like Filch himself.

The pair looked like one of those caricatures you could sometimes buy at fairs, where owner and pet always looked like they were really next of kin. And the two were a right menace, too, much worse than Peeves, in Riko’s personal opinion. Peeves was usually just interested in a bit of fun or chaos, which was after all very understandable and acceptable. But those two were the exact opposite, and the cat herself was at least as bad as her human, as she was easier to overlook and liked to patrol the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she’d whisk off for Filch, who’d appear, wheezing, two seconds later.

Reputedly Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts only to pester you. It was really no wonder the two of them were hated by all the students, many wishing dearly to give the cat a good, solid kick. In comparison, the library was positively welcoming. Madam Pince looked very strict, but as long as you were quiet and treated the books right, she left you alone.

The next week started well enough with Charms on Monday and Tuesday cancelled, which Flitwick had already told them last week, assigning really interesting reading instead. Riko was still going to get the lesson-notes from the others though, to look over during the next of Professor Snape’s addresses. Clearly, she was growing more used to being a student and her subjects. If one didn’t count Transfiguration. And to getting back her marked homework, and occasionally having to rewrite it. Yes, Transfigs.

Hermione was shocked and demanded that from now Riko let her go over her homework before she hand it in, but she also couldn’t seem to help being a bit amused. “Just a step above Troll, she writes here, oh, Riko, honestly, you couldn’t ’ve aimed for Poor?” she said.

Riko shrugged, only mildly discomfited. She hadn’t known what exactly McGonagall wanted so she’d mostly written it from her (still delightfully criss-crossy, at least at times) notes. Which, clearly, despite her earlier work being marked Acceptable, hadn’t worked.

“Well, my wandwork’s far too nice for a troll, so maybe that stopped her,” she replied easily.

It distracted Hermione immediately into poking, again, at the explanations Edie and Vi had given her for the way marks were given here. As far as Riko knew muggle school graded alphabetically and according to sources, namely Edie, Hermione had been visibly shocked upon receiving her first homework with an O, all the more hilarious since she’d already badgered them about the marking on the train. Riko thought Outstanding did have a nicer ring to it than just a letter, although Fantastic or Brilliant would sound even better. Exceeds Expectations and, below that, Acceptable, were even more boring though, and her current mark, Dreadful, sounded much worse than she felt her work had been, but well.

The weather had cleared nicely but they didn’t find time to visit Hagrid right away, so Riko sent Korra with a note, to ask if they could visit on Friday or Saturday afternoon and was glad to tell the others of Hagrid’s positive reply. They were all pleased in their different ways, which was good, and not even just because any additional info on them, on their habits and reactions and all that, was helpful.

She hadn’t managed to find out any of their secrets in the short time they always had, usually spent in the library or exploring the corridors, but Riko thought everything was going pretty well. She was continually getting more info, after all, and yes, there were secrets, but she was going to learn them eventually.

Yes, for now she was still not a bit further on the mystery that was Victoria Drake, but that was going to be temporary. The Hufflepuff wasn’t secretive or withdrawn, after all. Vi was usually in good, if rather dry and sarcastic, spirits with them, exploring, commenting, helping with the research and homework in the library.

She was very sharp, Riko had noticed her cataloguing just about everything going on, including Riko’s occasional edges showing through and others noticing the four of them. She was also very good at avoiding questions while answering them, and even better at turning the subject to things that had nothing to do with her family or her home. And Riko couldn’t even call her out on it, as of all the subjects she didn’t want to discuss those were at the top.

She thought Edie might have noticed as well, but the Ravenclaw seemed content to not dig, although she did answer similar questions easily. But then, she always seemed a bit hesitant about it, so perhaps that was yet another case of not prying because of her own secrets, or maybe it was just because she didn’t want to trouble a potential friend. Edie was forever their mediator, really, especially when Riko couldn’t help but tease Hermione a bit, purely with good intentions, that, really. But Riko still remembered how scared the Ravenclaw had been at the Sorting, even if, so far, she had absolutely no clue as to why. Edie’d tried to wave it away as nerves, but Riko knew real fear when she saw it, she didn’t even need her cueroscope to tell her something was up here.

The only one who didn’t hide anything was Hermione, and she usually let herself be distracted by mentioning you didn’t understand some interesting aspect of their subjects or starting a discussion about, well, anything, really. The Gryffindor was a bit of a know-it-all, which Riko found in equal parts fantastic, because, well, a person knowing so much stuff, of all different sorts of subjects, it was just grand, and annoying, because Hermione was very clear on knowing a lot but not as clear on the fact there was still lots more to know, even on subjects she’d already “read all about”.

It had Riko roll her eyes and sometimes it also made her want to strangle the girl, just a little. Which, she figured, was a good sign, and she was really just hoping to bring that out in their Gryffindor, too. Because in, hm, opposed interactions Hermione was still liable to fall very silent and be positively shy if it wasn’t already part of a right, proper debate. Like she was afraid Riko would dump her for disagreeing, which was just not on, at all. Thus it was clearly only with the best of intentions that she tried to get Hermione worked up, just so she could prove they were still friendly afterwards, honestly, it wasn’t that it was fun to have someone to argue with. Not that Edie was very helpful in that regard, with her insistent tendency to have everyone be civil and nice to each other.

Admittedly, she was very helpful at times, specially in that capacity, because poking Hermione was a bit of a hit-and-miss, sometimes, and, equally sometimes, Edie did have a better feel for when to stop an escalation so as not to hurt Hermione. So, yes, Riko thought everything was going pretty well, this Hogwarts business really wasn’t that hard.

Then, on Thursday, after her third period with Edie in the theoretical part of Professor Sinistra’s Astronomy lesson, she was heading for her first lesson in Flying. Edie had split for the library to meet with Vi while Riko practically skipped down to the Pitch.

She was glad to share more than one lesson with Hermione, seeing how Potions would likely continue to be somewhat tense. Eager to be down there already, Riko hurried along a smaller side-corridor, heading for a lesser-used, small staircase that led down to a side-entrance to the two-point courtyard. Then Riko heard the sound of voices and odd noise that reminded her of Charms lesson.

Carefully, she slowed down and glanced worriedly around the bend of the corridor. What she saw made her blood start to boil with anger. She could make out Vi, a few steps beyond the small circular stair. Between them were five other students, obviously older, and they were taunting and hexing her friend!

Vi was remarkably steady for the situation she was in, deflecting and dodging, but she had no chance to counter-attack and had obviously had to take a few hits already, outnumbered as she was. After a moment, Riko could identify the three closest to her friend as the three rude relatives from the train. Her eyes narrowed as she heard them taunt Vi.

“Didn’t think you could hide from us, did you, freak? I always knew you were just a well-trained pet of your mother, or did you bribe the hat to put you in Hufflepuff so you’d be safe from us? Not that it’s doing you any good right now.” Riko could practically hear the self-satisfied grin in the nasal drawl of one Seraphina Drake and it set her teeth on edge.

Vi did something then, her face grim as her wand danced in a complicated move, and suddenly there was a visible, pale shield between her and her attackers, giving her a moment to breath. She looked pale, almost greyish, and a bit fuzzy around the edges, and there were scrapes visible on her face, and cuts in her robes. Her left arm was held closely to her side as if hurt and Riko had to suppress a growl. She was now glad she had left her bag with Edie.

“If you weren’t quite so afraid of a little hard work and training, maybe you wouldn’t need all of four people to help you beat me in what I assume you still regard as a rematch of our last official duel.” Vi’s voice was cool and both the ironic edge of her tone and her superior look as she drew herself up and lifted one eyebrow were a work of art.

Riko’s estimation of the girl sky-rocketed at the pure defiance of sanity in that act. Mouthing off like that, in such a situation, her friend clearly had nerves of steel and a very peculiar humour. The amount of things they had in common was growing in leaps and bounds. Nonetheless, she had to do something now, while no one had noticed her yet. Unfortunately Riko knew far to little about wand-magic to be any direct help to her friend, and what magic she did know was by far too destructive to use here. Even if she dearly wanted to kill every single one of these assholes. This left only the physical, and she’d have to be careful not to use any of the lethal moves Shizuka-sensei had drilled into her, too. And she had no time to lose, either.

“You had no business being in that competition at all, you’re not even really my age group, you..” Seraphina hissed venomously, gesturing, and she and the others started raining all sorts of different hexes at the shield. Vi bit her lip and drew her brows in concentration as she tried valiantly to keep the shield up. Riko was already moving by then.

From there, things became something of a blur, although everything seemed to slow down as she dropped expertly into quicktime, first time in quite a while. Shizuka-sensei would’ve laughed, probably. Riko only aimed to make them stumble and fall down; flowing through the mostly harmless forms of Shizuka and the stances Eliria had taught her; kicking in the hollows of their knees and sweeping their feet, she made use of her small stature and their surprise as she rushed towards their leader.

After the first confused moments they started throwing hexes after her and Riko grinned with glee as they mostly hit each other instead. She was almost by the lean, mean leader, Seraphina, standing directly in front of the stairs Riko had meant to use. Then, as she evaded an actual, physical swing by Petronia Periss, suddenly a painful heat was pricking into her as if with hundreds of needles. She had dodged right into Seraphina’s hex.

Gritting her teeth, Riko let some of her rage out as she rammed into the girl at full speed with a snarl. There had actually been method to her madness of dragging their leader down the stairs. It had seemed the best bet of breaking up the situation, allowing either a quick getaway for her and Vi, or attracting attention from others to make them break up the fight. Now, careening down the steep staircase, it was suddenly more unsettling than she’d expected.

Seraphina had grabbed her and wasn’t letting go and they fought chaotically and viciously about who caught more of the steps they rolled down. Though she was quick and agile, the situation was rather unpleasant for Riko as her opponent was no slouch and also stronger and bigger. Consequently, when they tumbled to a halt, she hurt all over, though she was now on top and also spitting mad.

She’d cracked her elbow against something and now her right arm didn’t want to work right, and this damned asshole was at fault, bullying Vi even though she was clearly years older! Riko let loose a vicious kick at the other’s midsection even before scrambling to stand up, cursing fluently in at least four languages. Drawing a breath to continue her angry tirade while doing she knew not exactly what, she was suddenly interrupted by a sharp voice.

“What in Circe’s name is going on here?!”

Riko jerked back so violently she nearly fell over, dropping out of quicktime as she tried to re-enter the situation under terms of civility. It was Professor Sprout and she looked both flabbergasted and angry, her uncommon temper making her voice hard to recognize.

Seraphina had sat up, though Riko noticed with great satisfaction she was also fuzzy around the edges now and wheezing badly. Before Riko could even open her mouth, the other girl started moaning about how “That crazy Slytherin freak just attacked me, she’s nuts and clearly not fit for human company...”

Riko hissed in a breath through her teeth, barely restraining a growl that might make the Professor believe the other girl before she let off some of her own temper.

“You lying coward, how dare you...”

She was so mad her entire vision was starting to grow fuzzy and she leaned back against the banister to draw a painful breath. Vaguely she heard shouting voices and running noises from up the stairs and then Vi raced down the stairs, almost bouncing into her.

“Riko, are you alright?”

Then the girl saw her head of house standing there, looking at the three of them with a serious expression that seemed out of place on her usually cheerful face. The professor shrewdly eyed the setup with for a moment, before rounding in on Seraphina with narrowed eyes.

“I highly doubt that one, or even two, first years would start an attack on a fourth year student, and from the noise upstairs it seems your friends just cleared the field, Miss Drake.”

She levelled her wand at the girl, making her pale further and back against the wall. With a grim smile the professor murmured something before stepping back.

“As you have no injuries worth mentioning, I suggest you catch up to your usual company. If I catch you harassing any first years again, I will have a serious talk with your head of house, and now take ten points from Gryffindor and get to where you should be.” Her voice held a hard edge that Riko found oddly endearing.

Seraphina looked both angry and scared now and stiffly stood, hurriedly hobbling off down the corridor. Professor Sprout moved over to them and Riko realized only belatedly the Professor was casting the same murmured spell at Vi.

“Hmph, melting hex, what you children are getting up to, I have no idea..”

The professor’s face held now more exasperation and worry as she turned to Riko, repeating the spell. Riko couldn’t suppress an instinctual twitch at that, her adrenaline still running high, although she felt nothing beyond the continued hot prickling from whatever hex Seraphina had hit her with.

“Hmph. Miss Drake, I would ask you what just happened here, but I somehow doubt I’ll get a real answer, hm?” Professor Sprout sounded mostly irritated and resigned.

Vi kept silent and looked at her feet, clearly embarrassed. With a “tut“, the professor viewed them both. “Well, someone certainly fell down the stairs, this time. I expect you to deliver Ms Slyver safely to the hospital wing...”

“Err, professor, I have Flying in the next period..”

Riko didn’t feel well, exactly, but she had looked forward to the lesson with Hermione. Surely in a bit of time her arm would be usable again and she thought the prickling wasn’t as bad by now. It wasn’t that distracting, really. It was however surprisingly disconcerting to have both the professor and Vi gape at her like a pair of odd koi carps. Especially when the professor kept swimming in and out of focus. At least Vi stayed fuzzy.

Riko blinked with some irritation. “What?”

“Miss Slyver, you have a fractured elbow, what seems to be full-blown concussion, and some of your ribs are cracked, at the very least. In combination with the melting hex I doubt even Madam Pomfrey will have you restored in time for dinner, much less Flying lesson in the very next period!” Professor Sprout seemed scandalized at the very idea.

Before Riko could even react to that bit of news, after all she really didn’t feel all that bad, the professor addressed Vi again, quite sternly now.

“As I said, since you need to go there anyway and have the next period free, I expect you to escort Miss Slyver to the hospital wing. I think you know the way by now, just one floor down and to the right. And I hope you manage to use the rest of the stairs without anyone falling down.”

Vi looked mortified, staring to the ground and mumbling a very quiet “Yes, professor.”

The squat little witch huffed a sigh and returned to her more genial nature, giving them a warm smile. “Very good, Miss Drake. I’m sure you’ll do fine in taking care of your friend. Five points to Slytherin and Hufflepuff, now please excuse me, I have to hurry already.”

She huffed exasperatedly at the last part, and Riko noticed the professor looking after the two of them as they descended the winding stair further down before she moved on. Vi had taken her left arm and was guiding her down as carefully as if she were an invalid and was, even for Vi, being creepily, utterly silent.

Then Riko stopped in the middle of a step, hit by a sudden thought. “Vi, where’s your bag?” She politely ignored the floored look she received. “It’s still on the third floor, isn’t it?”

At the continued slack-jawed regard Riko at last narrowed her eyes. Pressing her lips together, she turned around, dragging the other girl along with her left hand. She might have stumbled a little after a few steps, but that was certainly no reason for Vi to make such a panicked rush to her side. Riko knew not to fall backwards on a staircase.

When they had arrived at the landing on the third floor, Vi at last allowed Riko from her grip, letting her lean against the banister as she moved to her bag. It was lying on the side and some of the books had fallen out. As the girl moved to gather her things, Riko half-closed her eyes against the too-bright light filtering through the windows. It was very quiet.

“Sorry. Seems like I didn’t do a very good job trying to help ya out there.”

Riko would have shrugged, but by now she started to feel as if what Professor Sprout had said might actually fit. Even sighing hurt a little, when Vi suddenly went very still at the words. This was not what she’d had in mind going into the situation. The other girl was probably mad at her now, perhaps she didn’t even want to be her friend any more.

“I mean, sorry, I don’t mean that I think you need help as such. It was just, it pissed me right off, five to one, really, and I just wanted to use the stairs and how dare they try and...” she searched for something to say that would make sense and not sound as if she thought the other girl was incapable of looking after herself.

Frustratedly she blurted the first things that came to her mind. After all, it seemed Vi didn’t mind it if she acted like a fool, so far.

“You didn’t have to keep it a secret from us, you know! We’re, like, I dunno, your pirate parters or something, and I don’t meant you can’t look after yourself, but we said we’d look after each other and obviously you had some run-ins with them already, and I don’t mean to intrude in any sort of grudge-match-duel or whatever, but that was clearly a situation where we should have been with you, and perhaps we’re just really stupid because we didn’t notice before but, well...”

Great, now she was making accusations, that was certainly the right track..not!

“Sorry,” she sighed in defeat after a moment of tense silence. “When are you gonna teach me duelling? Can’t say brawling did the job here, can I?”

Vi had after all agreed to teach her, and even if she was now mad at Riko, she would certainly keep her word, and then Riko could use the time to befriend her again. And find out all about her rotten family, most importantly how to beat them with a wand.

Riko hadn’t noticed Vi walk up to her and was consequently startled when she was suddenly looking directly in her face. The girl gave her a shy, embarrassed sort of smile and offered her arm, instead of gripping Riko’s arm or hand again. When Riko blinked and then laid her hand on the arm, Vi managed to mix a huff of real amusement, warm and rare and brilliant, with a strange wariness, just a tinge around the edges, which was just baffling.

Still, it was good, right, they were definitely still friendly at the least, Riko thought, and followed when Vi turned and started to lead the way again. It wasn’t fast but they moved in a comfortable, companionable way, each leaning slightly against the other, which was nice.

“We can talk it out,” Vi said at length, “soon as Madam P has checked you properly, though with a thorough magical examination she might have to turn you over to the Thickey Ward, you utter nutter. That was magnificent by the way, I’ll want you to show me some of your moves, because the look on Fina’s face.. priceless, I tell you. Too bad you couldn’t see it...”

Riko had never thought Vi would be one to babble, ever, but she also thought it both adorable and much better than her friend being mad at her. She was actually a bit sorry when she had to stop again, after her unreasonably slow brain caught up with Vi was saying. At least Vi stopped as well and looked at her questioningly even as Riko started to babble, herself.

“Ano, wait a sec please. I just remembered, I need to...kuso, can you help me please...?” Riko gritted her teeth as she moved to open her robe and the Samue jacket below it. “I almost forgot, I have to remove.. they might interfere..”

As Vi looked at her confusedly, Riko tried to open the strap that held the sheath on her back with only her left hand. For some reason her finger coordination was quite lacking, she had often done this before after all. After a moment, Vi understood her problem, and gently took her hand away to open the closures herself, carefully drawing the sheathed kunai from her back over her left shoulder.

Meanwhile, Riko was working on the two closures that held her other fang by her left tight. They were much easier to open and Riko expertly caught the sheath as it wanted to slide down. Looking up, she saw Vi eyeing her right-hand kunai before sliding it back in it’s sheath and giving her a wary, slightly ironic look.

“You carry around two massive stabbing weapons as part of your normal get-up.”

It wasn’t a question, even though the girl was clearly curious, and Riko remembered what she herself had said just a few steps up. It seemed Vi was ready to not ask questions, but Riko wanted to give her at least some answers. Their being friends was supposed to be a two-way street after all, and she thought the other girl understood her far too well already.

“Well, I have some other, smaller ones as well, but I’m not worried about them showing up in a magical examination.” She smiled weakly. “They’re my fangs. Kunai is the general term for that kind of knife and those have some magic in them, too.”

“..healthy portion of paranoia, indeed..” Vi drawled with a dry smile. Her readiness to answer potential questions with her own assumptions heartened Riko. She held out the sheath in her left hand. Vi looked first uncomprehendingly at her, then shocked. Riko smiled again. “My backpack’s still in the library, so if you could look after them for me for a while..?”

“You’re crazy...” Vi gaped at her after a few moments of disbelieving blinking.

“Sure, but I can’t always be paranoid, specially not against my own pirate partner,” Riko winked good-naturedly at her. “Go on, I’ll trust you to look after them for me for a little.”

Vi looked very seriously at her for a moment before accepting the second sheath. After she’d plunged them deep into her rucksack they continued their way to the hospital wing in companionable silence. Riko leaned more and more against the taller girl as she was feeling increasingly miserable.

“..you know the Drake family moved in to take over many of their operations, after the Slyvers just disappeared, right?” Vi asked quietly after a while. Riko hadn’t, actually, but neither did she currently care.

“You’re not your family and I don’t care either way,” she mumbled absently as she tried to navigate the steps that had for some reason taken to turning in circles. She felt Vi give a strange huff, but as nothing else followed she decided it couldn’t have been important. She was quite surprised when she was suddenly standing in front of a bed with white sheets and Vi helped her sit on it.

The examination by a kindly witch who had to be Madam Pomfrey was a bit of a blur, if Riko was to be honest. Her head was starting to hurt in earnest now and when the witch shone a light directly into her eyes she gave a grumpy, inarticulate protest. This earned her a few moments of peace before the witch was back, putting a cup in her hand.

Riko did the only reasonable thing and drank whatever it was. She was glad she was already on the bed, because lying down until she felt better seemed to be the only thing to do then. She was asleep in no time at all.


	9. Some Assembly Required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If one thinks about it, having friends is not easy, especially if one isn’t even sure of having them as yet, nor very experienced at it. It’s nice when a plan comes together though ;-)

Riko awoke groggily at what she was told to be shortly after dinner, finding a rather tense Gray by her bed. After he’d delivered a very on-point lecture, he tousled her hair, making her freeze up belatedly. She was for some reason still operating under a strange sort of delay. He took it well enough, only shot her a layered smile, retracted his hand, and distracted her with relevant talk.

“Brought your Potions-stuff along,” he said, “so you can just relax and go there directly tomorrow. Heard you lost Gryffindor ten points in the whole mess, so good on you!”

She smiled sheepishly at that and murmured her thanks. He waved it off and stood. “Think about what I said, yeah? And good night!” He walked out with a friendly wave and a wink, bowing cheerfully to Madam Pomfrey as she passed over, trailing a small, floating tray of food for Riko.

After the mediwitch had fussed over her, Riko was so knackered she politely declined the food and was asleep again in moments. Vi hadn’t been there but she took that as a good sign, meaning the hexes the girl had been hit with could be cured quickly. She had seen her rucksack at the foot of her bed, so it seemed Edie had showed up sometime as well.

When she woke up again, Riko was hungry and wide awake. It was middling dark and she could hear a whispered argument not far off.

“..told you she’d be asleep. We shouldn’t disturb her, you heard what Madam Pomfrey said, about her reacting more strongly to some of the potions..”

“That’s neither here nor there, we should look after her, and she didn’t have dinner, Madam P said so, so it can’t hurt having something on hand...”

“You’re both right, so how about you stop arguing before you wake her up, I know you both just want to look out for her...”

Riko grinned with sudden delight. Closing her eyes she let her magic flow through her body, and was glad to find it in much better shape. Her elbow was in a sling and there was some odd magic centered around it, helping it heal. Both her head and her ribs felt a little gummy but mostly alright. She concentrated on casting, or rather calling up, Demon Eyes and looked in the direction of the whispers.

She couldn’t suppress a giggle at the three gasps. Her eyes would now glow red, making it possible for her to see in the dark even better than her usual cat’s vision. Incidentally she also saw a lot of magic around her, strongest around the potions visible in the cabinet in the back of the room, but really everywhere. Also, her three pirate sisters were gaping at her like fish.

“Pst, close you mouths, you look like a school of fish come to eat me in my sleep,” she whispered, grinning widely.

Vi was the first to catch herself, “Heh, you are definitely having too much fun with this, you know.” Riko could actually hear the smile Vi refused to show.

“Oh, not that again,” Hermione huffed with a cheerfull flash of white teeth in the dark. “That notion of yours is inconceivable, we told you...”

“Even if that word doesn’t mean what one might think it means...” Edie’s smile was teasing and she moved first to Riko’s bedside, the others trailing her carefully.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you. We brought you dinner, and a candle, but you can’t eat anything with sugar in it because that’d react with the potion that’s suppressing the melting hex that’s seeped into your fractures and then the charms repairing your bones would become confused and..”

“Thanks, Hermione. And thanks Vi and Edie. And you didn’t wake me.” Riko sat up and drew up her legs to make room for her friends. “Come on then, sit down, and light the candle, so you can see what you eat.”

She looked around for her wand belatedly, finding it on her bedside table and sliding it back into her left sleeve, glad when she could let go of her Demon Eyes. While the others politely nibbled on smaller portions, Riko happily chewed through some bread with pickles, cheese, ham, and a boiled egg, and also asked what she had missed out on.

Hermione held forth in great detail about the Flying lesson and how Draco Malfoy was just insufferable and had stolen the Neville’s Remembrall (and what was the use of that, honestly, when it didn’t even tell just what you’d forgotten, really?) when the boy had dropped it falling from his broom. He’d been taken to the hospital wing – with a broken wrist, no less, ouch – and Harry Potter had hunted Malfoy and the useless gadget down on a broom even though they weren’t supposed to be flying after Madam Hooch left (and she was the grey-haired witch they’d seen last Saturday at breakfast, beside McGonagall).

And then, instead of being expelled (not that she wanted him to be, you know, but still, really) he’d been made the Gryffindor Seeker on the Quidditch team, youngest in about a century (and she wanted to find out where a statue of a wizard called Gregor the Smarmy stood, because she’d heard there might be a secret passage behind it). And then, to top it all, during dinner he’d agreed to a duel against Malfoy at midnight even though he couldn’t even really do any real charms right yet, and when she’d told him that this was a bad idea, for that very reason and also because he was guaranteed to get caught and lose them points, he’d just ignored her.

That last part seemed to annoy her the most. She hadn’t even returned to the Gryffindor common room after that, instead hiding out in the library with Edie before meeting Vi at the hospital wing. Then Hermione and Edie wanted to hear what had happened to her in every detail, because apparently Vi had been rather terse in her synopsis of today’s adventure.

Riko obliged with a smile, giving a greatly exaggerated recount of the situation and it’s hilarity while barely brushing over the more uncomfortable and, in Vi’s case, personal details. She was quite aware of Vi watching her intently and both Edie and Hermione watching the both of them. It was both funny and a bit exhausting. She gave a small sigh.

“Alright, now that the fun’s taken care of, what’s up next? I mean, we already knew that Vi’s relatives are not up to her high standards of being awesome instead of lying, cowardly scum, no offence, Vi.”

“None taken,” came the dry reply from a smirking Vi, and Riko continued with an answering smile.

“So, I figured we just learn how to duel, seeing how we have someone very capable right here, and then we can make sure Vi has her back free and can trounce that damn cousin or whatever of hers. And in the mean time we just prank them into insanity, too, as planned.”

She’d quite intentionally been as flippant about it as she could. Now, as Vi cleared her throat, Riko threw a well-constructed innocently curious look at her friend, who from her raised eyebrow was clearly aware of Riko’s manoeuvring

“You do realize they are all either 3rd or 4th year, right? And none of you have any kind of previous training in this.” The girl remarked drily, leaning back into the shadows. “And part of the reason I actually wanted to go to Hufflepuff was that none of my relatives are there. You don’t have that advantage.”

As Riko had expected, Hermione would of course not take such reasoning lying down. “That may all very well be, but if you think we’ll let you deal with these, these scumbags alone, you’re just crazy. I don’t care how much I have to train, if they think they can get away with this, they have another thing coming!”

The Gryffindor’s bushy mane was again almost electrified as she sat up straight and crossed her arms resolutely. Edie’s answer was more sedate, but there was a determined layer of steel in her calm voice.

“Really Vi, you can just tell us who of them is in our house, then we can avoid them. I rather doubt they’d start anything in their own house, anyway.”

Riko nodded, rightfully pleased, if she said so herself. “Right then. We can start meeting for training in that empty room that has the stair going down. You know, the one in the third floor corridor, near the closed-off bit of corridor-that-leads-to-painful-death. Which I think we should check out this weekend at the latest. It’s too bad Filch was snooping around there last Sunday, but he can’t be there all the time, can he?”

Vi, realizing there was nothing to be done, gave an exasperated sigh but smiled shyly and gratefully at them. Even if she did it only with her eyes as she fell back to her ironic commenting. “Well, you are all crazy, but I already knew that, and since it seems I am too, it might actually be a bonus.”

Riko saw the others smile and joined, then gave in to a giant yawn. She grinned when the others followed her example. Before she could say anything, however, Hermione and Vi both rolled their eyes and said “Oh, shut up, you!”

At Edie’s questioning look, they explained, finishing each other’s sentences as if they’d known each other for years.

“When we were waiting for the train to start, Riko yawned first,”

“..like it was a competition and Hermione and I did, too, but like sane people,”

“..and then she said that a teacher had told her that when people start yawning after a person around them did, it means they think they belong together with that person..”

“..and then that crazy-head just threw me a smile as if I was visible again, gave me a near heart-attack, and Hermione said she hadn’t had much sleep either, and I’m glad she did, because that’s a much more logical reason and I couldn’t exactly say it right then, obviously...”

Riko grinned cheerfully and finished “..but either way, I was right too, seeing how you’re all currently engaging in conspiracy with me, sneaking me food and looking out for me.”

Edie giggled at them even as Riko hid another jaw-splitting yawn behind her hand. “Alright then, dear co-conspirators, guess we should let our prime instigator get some rest. Seems she needs it and I think we’ve looked after her enough for today.” It was plain adorable how she could always mark the big sister, although Hermione was their eldest.

As they moved to stand, putting the remaining food back in the basket and dusting crumbs from the sheets, Vi lagged, looking questioningly at Riko. The Hufflepuff had her rucksack with her, Riko noted with a happy feeling swelling in her gut. She shook her head very slightly under the cover of brushing back some hair behind her ears and then exaggeratedly winked at them all.

“Alright then, folks, thanks for the delightful visit. I am honoured y’all let me adopt you and wish you a good and safe return to your beds. We’ll see each other at lunch, at the latest, I think. Hufflepuff table sounds fine again, if that’s ok?”

They all nodded, obviously tired themselves, and Hermione snuffed the candle, carefully placing it in the basket Vi was holding. Her way took her closest to the kitchen and so she’d be the one to return it tonight. With a few whispered goodnights they left Riko to look at the ceiling, frowning in thought and occasionally yawning.

She’d have felt better if she had her fangs with her now, but she was sure Madam Pomfrey would examine her tomorrow before letting her go, and she didn’t want to leave them lying around where they might be seen or taken from her rucksack while she slept, even if that was admittedly rather unlikely. Vi could give them to her tomorrow in what Riko hoped would become their base.

That way she could show them some trust by letting them in on this secret while making a move to distance herself at the same time. Hopefully it would even out. She sighed. Gray had made some good points, but even so it bothered her to seemingly rebuff them after they had sneaked into the hospital wing for her, to take care of her.

That wasn’t just friendly, that was being friends, which, well. Was new. It made sense, of course, was great, _they_ were great after all, but still, the idea of potential long-term people was.. she’d have to get used to it. And handle it, circumstances and all, plan properly to keep it, now that it was. Wrangling with the mess of social manoeuvres, Riko heaved a weary sigh and closed her eyes, trying to come up with a good strategy, but instead she fell asleep.

In the morning Riko woke very early and it was a good thing she did. Madam Pomfrey gave a distracted smile as she brushed a few stray crumbs from the bed and then did all sorts of check-ups, casting tons of analytical spells and asking all sorts of question about how she was feeling. Then the mediwitch wanted to know which kind of substances and spells affected Riko differently from other humans, which Riko couldn’t answer at all.

All in all, she only just managed to get away to be on time for Potions. At first she’d pointed out repeatedly that the differences seemed to be mostly negligible and that the mediwitch had managed to help her just fine. It was only when Riko started to ask about Vi, namely how the girl seemed to have been here quite a few times and what sort of injuries she’d had yesterday and when she’d been here before, that Madam Pomfrey noted the time, even though the clock was in plain sight, seriously, Riko wasn’t hatched just yesterday.

As she hurried into the classroom, Riko made note of how her housemates seemed actually slightly surprised at her friendly greetings, their answers belated if they bothered at all. It seemed Gray had been quite right and she felt right stupid for not thinking earlier what effects her distractedness and lack of interaction with them might have.

Hermione was tired and edgy all through the lesson, indicating in short, hushed whispers she had a story to tell but apart from that very concentrated on the subject matter. It was a good thing, too, because Professor Snape was continuing his show of displeasure with absolutely everything any of the Gryffindors, especially Potter and Weasley, did. Luckily today there were no incidents that would have given cause to any point-taking, but still Riko was glad when they could race off in the direction of the Great Hall.

She made a point of waving a short goodbye to her housemates before running off. Riko’d occasionally looked around the class room and noticed Draco was looking a little tired as well as discontent, despite earning five points over the course of the lesson. What was going on in her house? Being on the outside without info was right annoying! She was getting increasingly tense with the whole situation hanging in the air like that, but resolutely shook it off as they neared the Hufflepuff table.

Vi and Edie were already waiting but they hadn’t been there long, judging from their plates and their fast breathing. Hermione insisted to tell her story only in what she already called ‘their room’, so they ate quickly and hurried on to the second floor. After carefully listening on the door they tried to open it. It was still spelled closed and with scouts on either side, covering, Hermione proudly unlocked it again with Alohomora.

The big room was still the same, desks and chairs stacked against one wall, the blackboard dusty and to the left of it the slim door to the stairs slightly ajar. There was another door on the left wall, between the blackboard and the outer wall, that lead to a dusty, mostly empty store room. It was also still leaned closed exactly as it had been before, so everything seemed alright so far. Riko headed up the stairs, carefully looking around the spiralling steps.

The stairs ended in a slim door, opening into a spacious, long-deserted office, complete with empty, dusty shelves and an old-fashioned desk with many empty drawers. From it led one door out onto a gallery that seemed to be the castle’s main meeting place for suits of armour and another to what had to be the former teacher’s living quarters.

They were roughly the same the size as the classroom below and, from the layer of dust that covered even the inside of the fire place, hadn’t been used in a long time. Two big, empty wooden wardrobes, a few shelves, and a battered couch were all placed along the walls. It’d be perfect, once they cleaned it up. They had privacy, if they were smart about it, a lot of room, which would be great for whatever training Vi might put them through, and the couch was very comfortable despite it’s beaten down appearance.

When they had first scouted through here, they’d found that the door to what had once been the bathroom of the teacher now opened into a slightly cramped bathroom for boys. However, from the other side the door was invisible and they had additionally locked it, too. They’d have to cast a silencing charm on it, just to be sure, but for now everything seemed just fine.

As they trooped over to the couch and flopped down one by one, Vi trailed behind, instead heading for the door to the bathroom. After a moment of silent listening against the wood, she took a step back and cast “Scutum Strepiti” on it. Plopping down on Riko’s end of the couch she answered their questioning looks.

“Sound shielding charm. Bit different from silencing ’cause it doesn’t create a space of silence, it makes the door act as a shield to any sound coming from our direction, but if there’s someone on the other side we can still hear it. So unless we scream down the walls, no one on the other side will hear us.” She gave them a dry grin at their impressed looks. “It’s quite useful, yeah.”

“Fantastic, Vi! Now, Hermione, if you’d please tell your story? You didn’t get caught by Filch or anything, did you?” Riko was not good with waiting longer than necessary for anything, least of all stories about interesting happenings, and whatever had Hermione all tense and agitated again was something to know.

“No, I didn’t, but it was a near thing! I swear I’m that close to just strangling Harry Potter and that Ron Weasley with my own bare hands, and that damned Draco Malfoy, too!” the girl burst out and then she told them of the adventure she had fallen into yesterday, after they had left Riko to let her get some rest.

Hermione had been greatly relieved to make it up to the Gryffindor tower safe and sound, only to then discover that it’s guardian had gone to visit some other painting. At least she’d had some company, because Neville had forgotten the new password and been stuck outside the painting ever since coming up from the infirmary around lights-out.

They had talked a little and Hermione learned that he’d had to wait for quite a while in the hospital wing because Madam Pomfrey had been so busy with Vi and Riko and a few others from a serious incident that included an explosion in 5th year Potions, and then she’d insisted he eat his dinner there, checking him thoroughly afterwards. They’d continued on to lessons and subjects, and then family, after Hermione mentioned she was a muggle-born.

Apparently Neville was from a rather well-known family but had only few living relatives. He’d been very worried about not being sorted into Gryffindor and now he worried even more about not being a good enough Gryffindor, so that Hermione had become impatient and told him off rather sternly. After all, if the hat had placed him there it was clear he should be there, and she’d told him how that thing with being brave worked already.

She’d been surprised and shocked when he’d gotten all depressed after that and claimed that she had an easy time saying that, because she was doing really well at everything and could afford to not care what anyone thought of her, but that things were different for him, because he had to make his Gran proud and obviously nobody expected him to be any good, because no one ever wanted to partner with him and then he’d actually started to cry.

She’d apologized of course, and tried to tell him that being brave had nothing to do with being good at everything, that it was quite the other way around, and they’d just started to get along again, when Potter and Weasley had exited the tower. Unfortunately no one had reacted fast enough which left all four of them stuck outside the tower.

Hermione had insisted that Neville and her come along then, arguing that when they’d get found by Filch they could split and being a moving target would decrease their chances of being caught by the caretaker as well. Actually, she’d just been very curious about how a duel was fought and with a shy smile she admitted to a desire to be there when the great Harry Potter got trounced in his duel, because he couldn’t even cast any real charms yet.

Things had however gotten thoroughly out of hand very quickly. First, that cowardly Draco Malfoy had sent Filch to catch them instead of showing up. Then, as they were sneaking away, Neville and Weasley decided that splitting and running was the better option, but instead they’d collided with some suits of armour after stumbling over each other.

In the following panic they had for some reason all clung to each other while racing away like crazy, instead of splitting up. At least she now knew there was a hidden passageway that ended by the Charms corridor behind some tapestries, they’d have to check that out later. Then however, things had gotten even worse.

At first they’d thought they’d gotten away, but instead they’d run into Peeves of all things. That might not have been such a horrible thing if Weasley hadn’t been along, because the boy tried to hit the poltergeist. Honestly, and he was from a wizarding family, they were just mad, all of them! Peeves had yelled, immediately attracting Filch, and as they ran away again they’d ended up in a dead end when a door in the corridor refused to open.

And then, things had gotten even more horrible! Riko listened with rapt attention as Hermione continued. Only after she’d used her Alohomora to open the door and let them hide, they realized just where exactly they were and why it was a dead end. It was the closed-off bit of corridor-that-leads-to-certain-death, and Hermione now knew exactly why it was forbidden.

There was a giant, three-headed dog there, guarding a latch, and it was not a happy dog at all. They’d scrambled back to their common room in such a panic Hermione was still surprised they hadn’t been caught. When she’d finished, Hermione was tearing at her hair, obviously still quite upset about the whole thing. Riko was very impressed by the girl’s adventure and judging from their looks so were Vi and Edie.

“Damn, that’s just incredible...” Riko whistled, “I wonder what it’s guarding? It’s got to be something really important!”

At the varying looks of disbelief, she only shrugged and gave a disarming smile. “Come on, I’m not saying let’s go there now, so don’t tell me you don’t want to know, too!”

“..you’re mad, too..” Hermione wailed into her hands tiredly, resting her head against the squishy back rest. But she was looking through her fingers at them and Riko could see a smile tugging at the girl’s lips.

“Oi now, I want you to know that I am in no way as mad as your deplorable housemates,” Riko objected with enough cheer to be obviously teasing, “and I’ll thank you to keep it in mind. I’ve neither flown crazily on a broom, ever, nor would I ever think it a good idea to go to a duel without knowing how to cast any real charms!”

“Right, you just try to beat them up and then drag them down a spiral staircase. That’s much better.” Vi gave her a flash of a sunny smile as she drily commented this and Riko, greatly appreciating Vi’s positive take on it, grinned her most charming Slyver-grin.

“Yes, thank you, I know it is.”

Her friends gave small, supposedly exasperated huffs of laughter at that and Riko beamed with satisfaction. But there were things to be done, here. She let her face grow serious and forced herself to break a subject she really would have preferred to ignore. Well, two subjects, actually, but she wasn’t going to linger on the first, only brush over it to get to the second.

“Now, there’s a few things I have to talk to you about before we start with the whole duelling training.” She made an apologetic face and continued with a sheepish look. “I may be crazy in a debatable number of ways, but I still want to make sure we get into as little real, ah, official trouble as possible.”

They looked at her, their miens showing a mix of curiosity and wariness, and Riko felt her own worry churning in her guts. What if they didn’t agree? If they were offended? Taking a deep breath she braced for the worst and raised her chin defiantly, before turning to Vi and holding out her hand. “First, if you please, now seems a good time, I’d say.”

The other girl nodded with an impenetrable face, leaning down to open her rucksack. Riko bit her lip and turned to the other two who were eyeing them with guarded looks that told her they were trying hard not to feel left out. She knew exactly when they saw what Vi had taken from her rucksack, shock and questions written clearly in their faces. With a grateful look at Vi she took her two fangs and gripped them in her lap just to keep her hands still.

“Right, those here are my two fangs. They have some magical properties but the main thing to know about them is that I have them to protect myself, not to be a menace to society or some-such.”

She took a shaky breath and continued hastily. “When I had to go see Madam Pomfrey yesterday I gave them to Vi to put in her rucksack, because I didn’t want them to interfere or be found when I was examined. She didn’t know about them before, and afterwards I think we both kind of had other things on our minds.”

Riko gave them a weak smile and a wink, actually a little scared how they would react. Hermione and Edie shared a pensive look but when they turned to Riko and Vi they seemed to have come to the same decision.

“You really weren’t joking about that healthy portion of paranoia part, were you?” Edie sighed with a cautious smile, but she hit Riko lightly on the shoulder as she said it.

Hermione gave her a shy look. “I think the best proof that you’re not a danger to anyone is that Vi’s rotten relatives are still alive.” The girl bit her lip but threw them both a warm look.

Riko took a deep breath and let it out again before continuing with a thundering heart. “Thank you, I mean, you know... for, well, just thanks for that.” Now for the worst part...

Riko realized she was gripping her fangs as tightly in her lap as someone else might hold unto a stuffed animal when scared. Not a problem as such, rather understandable to her, she still thought it might send a wrong message to her friends if she continued the conversation like that. Throwing them all a nervous smile, she hastily shoved them into her backpack.

“Alright, now for the unpleasant part...” She pulled some hair back behind her ears and noticed she now didn’t know what to do with her hands. With a tight grimace she clasped them in her lap. “Yesterday you weren’t the only ones to visit me. Gray, one of my house prefects, gave me a bit of a lecture. Nothing mean or anything, he was real nice about it and he brought me my potions stuff and he made a good point, one that is even more valid with everything we’re planning..”

They were all eyeing her cautiously and she wet her lips, hoping she’d be able to make them understand her train of thought.

“I think, personally, that we have a great advantage over the rest of the people here because we aren’t falling for that crazy house-division scheme. But there’s another side to this, too. McGonagall said our houses would be like a family for us while we are at Hogwarts. Now, I think we don’t have to talk about family not always being all it’s made out to be, but still, family usually means something you can’t just ignore.”

They all nodded warily, and Riko swallowed nervously before deciding the time for bluntness had arrived now, while she was still making some sense. “I think we should make some sort of plan or deal, to spend some time with our own housemates.”

The silence that followed this sentence was tense and Riko felt miserable as she saw them looking at her with varying degrees of hurt and disappointment and just plain unreadableness, if that was even a word.

“Nononono, stop it, now!” she frantically waved her hands, trying to make them stop looking so depressed. “I’m not saying we will or need to or whatever. I just think it might be smart move, but we are four people here and if we decide against it, then we won’t do it, simple as that.”

She was tearing at her hair now, desperate to try and make them see her reasoning. “All right, hear me out first, alright? This is not because I don’t want to spend any more time with you. In fact I pretty much completely ignored my housemates since meeting them at the feast, and I wouldn’t want to miss the time I spent with you.”

Riko meant it and clearly they saw that, because they started to look more thoughtful. It was heartening and Riko nodded gratefully, better able to continue now.

“But seeing how we’re going to be skirting around school rules, quite probably breaking them as well for all sorts of good reasons, we have to be smart about it. If we don’t build some ties to the people who should be our family here, we can’t expect them to bear us any goodwill and tolerate our shenanigans. They’re not really our family after all.”

She could see that they could understand her now, but they still looked too unhappy for her to leave it at that. Riko hoped she wouldn’t have to regret what she said next. She’d hinted at it yesterday night already, well, hid it badly in a joke, and they hadn’t seemed to mind, then. But, well, this was different now..

“If you want to, I think it would be much better, if we turn it around. We can be our own family and be there for each other simply because that’s what friends do. And anyone else, housemates and whatever, they can be the sort of relation that needs maintaining because they still need a reason to look out for you. Whatever that’s called, I dunno.. I mean.. you don’t have to, I just thought..”

She trailed off, looking at her hands, clasped so tightly that her knuckles were white and gave a weak shrug. She had seen their shocked looks. Hastily clearing her throat, she quickly continued. “Well, we don’t have to, of course, I didn’t mean to offend you or...”

“Oh, shut up, you nutter,” Vi said very calmly, pulling her into a one-armed, sideways hug that threw Riko at least as much as the warm grin she could hear in the other girl’s voice. “You’re not getting out of adopting us so easily.”

Riko looked up at Vi then, very quickly, confirming with her eyes what she’d just heard. Somehow it was still hard to believe. Shyly she looked to Edie and Hermione to see them warmly grinning at her as well.

“Vi’s right, and obviously you two’ll need someone to look out for you, seeing how you both managed to end up in the hospital wing already.” Edie’s warm amber eyes laughed at her even as the girl made a mock-severe face.

“Yes, Vi is completely right! We heard you yesterday, you know, if we didn’t like it we would’ve said something then!” Hermione shot her an aggravated look with her warm smile before continuing in a tone just this side of lecturing. “Mum says friends are the world’s way of apologizing for our family, but really, everyone knows friends are the family you get to chose, Dad said so, too. I think either way it’s clear we should stick together.”

Vi looked insanely pleased. With her trademark dry laugh she unhanded a still-flabbergasted Riko, settling her against the back rest as if she was a little kid that needed help sitting right. “Heh, considering how quick you’re usually, it’s just too cute when you’re slow for once, Riko.”

Blinking a bit dazedly Riko had to admit that her friend was right, then thought about why exactly that was. Still feeling oddly mushy and drained from the stress she only now realized she’d felt, she gave them a weak smile, slumping further back into the couch cushions.

“Yeah, well, sorry, I’m just not used to having so much direct contact with people. Much less people.. well, like you..” She then noticed, that this could lead to subjects she didn’t really care to discuss in any detail and waved her hand neglectfully.

“Anyway, since that’s settled we should probably start with strategizing and training? Who are we up against, what do we know about them, what can we do already, what do we need to learn, stuff like that. Oh, and of course how we’d best do this house-time-thing..” With an effort Riko raised herself a little from the squishy backrest, suppressing a sigh. She really wouldn’t mind just relaxing for a bit, resting her eyes and regaining some energy, but..

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” Vi started with a sly smirk while pushing Riko back against the couch, “we’ll do that in just a little while. Now, does anyone mind if we just lounge around a bit, first? I’m still a bit tired, and you can always read if it’s too boring for you otherwise.”

Melting back into the cushions, Riko gave in to a light laugh. “Oh, fine,” she mumbled. Edie and Hermione made similar sounds of consent and for a while they just relaxed in silence, occasionally nudging and sliding around bit until they were one entangled mass of lazy limbs.

As she allowed herself to slowly wind down, a new thought bubbled up from Riko’s mind. “We’re really going to need a good name for our group. Any of you have a cool idea yet?”

“I had a lot of ideas, but so far not one I’d call really good,” grumbled Hermione, and Vi and Edie admitted to the same.

“Well, something’s gonna come up, I’m sure of it..” Riko smiled relaxedly. “Anyhow, Vi, how come your cousins don’t get caught with their miserable manners? If the way I met them yesterday is any indication, shouldn’t they be stuck in detention forever, or even better be kicked out of school?”

Vi gave an enormous sigh, but when she started to talk it was in a relaxed if somewhat aggrieved voice. “There’s just so damn many of them, they always have either an alibi or their own witnesses at hand, classic routine really.”

“You’ve met Seraphina, though it’s usually better to call her Fina, hacks her right off,” Riko could again hear dry humour in Vi’s voice, though there was a current of bitterness, too. “Her two main grunts are Petronia, Pet, and Leander, Andy, Periss. They’re incidentally not siblings but cousins of some sort, about equally obnoxious and slow, though.”

The dry amusement increased when she gave a soft sigh and affected a sort of lecturing tone. “The Periss line is a side line, so to speak, to the Drakes, and like my own family tree, it’s full of nuts.” she paused for a moment and when she continued her voice was serious, under the remaining traces of overt humour. “Pet is in 3rd year, the other two are 4th. Hermione will have to make sure to stay out of the girls’ way. Andy will be Edie’s problem.”

Breathing another sigh Vi stretched a little, extracting her right arm from below Riko’s head. “The rest are less directly bothersome, but they’re the main reason they hardly ever have to worry about getting caught. Adelia, Delie, Drake is a more removed cousin, not directly related. Then there’s Mencius, who _is_ directly related to Andy, namely his brother, much to their aggravation. Those two are the ones Riko will have to look out for, though they’re pretty harmless by themselves.”

“Oh yeah, and there’s Arista, she’s a Drake and a real cousin, kid of my mother’s youngest sister. She’s in Slytherin, too, but she hardly ever goes along with the others. She’s older but the same year as Fina and even less interested in the occasional fun of playing follower than her two younger housemates. She has a younger brother, but he’s in Beauxbatons, in France.”

There was a pause and Riko felt Vi tense up a little against her side, then the girl exhaled a tired sigh, letting off some of the tension. “The thing to know is that it’s really mostly about politics. Fina’s mother is younger than mine, but her son finished Hogwarts last year. Our family is matriarchal, like many families that originate in the Renaissance, so it’s the daughters that carry the name and are defaulted to inherited the family effects.”

“So, if anyone can advance by proving my mother’s line as inferior it’s Fina, and she’s kinda obsessed about it. Not that it’s gonna do her any good. We’re already pretty even as duellists, but her real problem’s always going to be Ju. Personally I don’t really care much about the family business as it were, but my little sis’ll never stand for any advances from what she sees as the lower line.”

The dry humour was back in Vi’s voice as she finished and Riko got the impression her friend was finished for now, not hesitating over what to say. There were still questions, though.

“Well, but what good will that do her if they are all going along with Fina? And why are they doing that, anyway?” Riko frowned in though, “And what good is it for them to hound you? It won’t make you any less the first-born of you first-born mother.. shouldn’t they rather be sucking up to you, if it’s just politics?”

She realized only after she’d asked and the silence stretched, that maybe her questions were a bit personal, so fixed had Riko been on viewing it as an odd puzzle. She was just about to apologize, when Vi answered in a tense, off-handed way that made Riko decide to question no further, no matter what.

“Well, for one, I don’t have much leeway, being the heir, and then being not overly happy about it all, not appreciating what she’d want so much, doesn’t help.. And then I beat Fina in the tournament when I was just nine and only allowed to take part as a Sparrow, without being eligible for any prices, and as I was never good friends with any of the others, being just a little sprog and all, that’s just how it played out.”

“Oh. I see.” Actually, Riko was still confused, but the bitter, brittle tone in Vi’s voice was unsettling. It made Riko want to whack Vi’s entire family in the head, that’s what it did. But unfortunately this was not an option, so she’d have to make sure her friend was alright some other way. Distraction seemed both the easiest and fastest way right now.

“Well, that is all very cloak and dagger, or maybe more kind of the godfather, you know, Al Capone and all that la familia stuff. Did you ever see the movies? Even I know the godfather, mind you, I didn’t see it, but Da knew it practically from heart, and he’d always tell me the story when I asked and.. Oh! Hey! I got an idea!”

With a triumphant grin she sat up, or at least tried to, making the strange many-limbed couch-creature they had become lurch precariously. After a laughing apology and some good-natured grumbling from the others, Riko had wriggled into a more upright position and took a deep breath.

“As I said,” she looked proudly at the others,”I have an idea. We could be the Untouchables! That would totally work! We are after all making a stand against an ongoing corruption and.. agh, oi!”

Edie had poked her in the side with a teasing smile. “You do realize that in the end they were very touchable and most of them died, right?”

Well, at least they knew what she was talking about. Now, she just had to convince them.

“Oh, pff, that’s completely beside the point, we’re after all not a bunch of muggle policemen.” Riko grinned insanely at the very idea, then continued enthusiastically.

“It’s the principle of the thing, namely that we will act where all others look away and boldly walk where others fear to tread, ra-ra-ra, you know what I mean. And because we’re fantastic we won’t get caught, either, so that’s just one more case of ah.. untouchability!” She leaned back a bit, her arms crossed and gauging their reactions.

Vi seemed to be agreeable to the idea but wary, silent, head tilted just a bit and watching them with her laid back almost-smile, eyes cautious and sharp, as if trying to figure something out. And although she had argued first, Edie looked entertained and already halfway convinced, very good that. Hermione was obviously of two minds about it. She was biting her lip in deep thought, but an impish grin was visible and her eyes were dancing with cheer.

“Well, it’s a good name, but in India that’s the name for their absolutely lowest class. That’s why they’re untouchable, because they are considered to be so completely disgusting. But..” she paused and giggled, then actually exploded into laughter, chortling something about “song.. can’t touch.. hammer”. It was odd. And then Edie developed the same symptoms.

First she just groaned, falling back against the couch and covering her eyes, then she started to howl in laughter, stammering the same words. Vi and Riko perplexedly looked at each other, then something wormed it’s way up from her memory and Riko’s eyes widened. Vi immediately realized the danger and with great presence of mind made a quick move to pinch Riko’s nose shut.

“Oh no, you don’t get to join that insanity before telling me what’s going on!”

She’d effectively immobilized Riko and her tone was the sort of smug threatening that comes from knowing you have the upper hand. She was also having a hard time not starting to laugh though, not helped by Riko miming a gaping fish at her. When Riko used her hands to imitate flapping gills, Vi lost that battle, and her grip on Riko’s nose with it. After they’d had finally recovered from several relapses into helpless laughter, Hermione was the first to try and explain the cause to Vi.

“It’s a muggle song, it was a really big hit, I have the CD, and it has that line, the refrain, and it goes ‘can’t touch this – naa-na-na-na’. Most of the text can be ignored, really, the point is that the singer just tells you how great he is and then he always drives it home with that line. It’s completely strange and just.. hilarious.”

Riko had stumbled on it in an arcade where is was running on one of the dance-machines and she almost started laughing again as she remembered the scene of her first contact. She somehow doubted explaining would work, but even as she mused on that, Edie was already solving that problem.

“Yes, and then he just throws throws in ‘Hammer time!’ in that strange way, because he’s called MC Hammer, that’s Master of Ceremonies, a muggle title, not music crystal, by the way. It’s impossible to explain, you need to hear it, and see it, because it’s actually a whole video of craziness. Ah, that’s like a play in a visual illusion and with sound.. I’ll owl Lea, she made a modded MC of it, perhaps she still has it lying around somewhere.”

Vi looked a little sceptical, but in an amused sort of way. No wonder, Edie being all sweet enthusiasm and earnest help was just precious.

“Alright, whatever you say,” Vi smirked, “So we’re the Untouchables, sounds good to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually hoping to always put up two chapters, seeing as the book IS finished already, but with semester starting up and the projects I have to finish during it (so little time! ugh!) it may end up being one chapter every week, or maybe two every two weeks.  
> If anyone reads it anyway, that is =) Sorry, but seeing how so far it was only written for me to read and with not having a beta.. I just feel better going over the content before I let it be seen.. ;-)


	10. Tools of the Trade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who doesn’t enjoy sharing knowledge and ideas with friends? Learning new things is more entertaining that way, too, and Riko having an easier time interacting with and managing people rather than friends is not actually problem, quite the opposite, really.

“Hahaa! Victoria! Veni, vidi, vici!”, Riko crowed with delight, expertly ignoring Vi’s tolerant groan. “Oh, and in order to let us all live up to the name I’ll teach you that neat trick Vi had on those Pounds. It’s called Obscurantis, the art of hiding in plain sight. It works a bit like a Charm, structure-wise, and the incantation is Obscurant...”

Riko had their undivided attention now and quickly explained the basic principle of constructing the spell a bit like a net or veil and securing it on the target first. After binding this construct to the target, you’d activate, so to speak, the effect by focussing on said target and picturing it fading from view, being removed and disconnected from the world. She also stressed the limitations of the spell.

“You always, always have to remember that while this gives you pretty much the ultimate edge in playing hide and seek it’s also easy to disrupt it yourself in some way. Never, ever draw attention to yourself! Look out that you don’t make any sounds or walk into anything or anyone or move anything around you. Also, you can’t cast it while being watched, you have to be either alone or you need something to distract any possible watchers.”

“So taking a book from a shelf while Obscured will make you visible to anyone watching. But sitting somewhere quietly will not, even if someone sees through it, if they don’t call attention to you.” Vi threw in drily. “So it’s possible to be visible to one person but not the other..”

Riko gave her a quick smile and nodded. “Yeah, and although it’s actually a trick you play on the mind, using the unconscious, it’s very dependant on the sort and strength of the senses of the people around you. So it’s also influenced by how strong you can make the spell. It’s sneaky but not weak, bit like lichen, not _bam_ _now_ _notice the power_ , more _never mind me breaking up that stone_.”

“Anyway, there’s three ways to it, to interact with the spell I mean. Looking through it is the hardest part, so we’ll do it last, it’s the one least directly useful for us anyway, at least right now. We’ll start by putting it on whatever target is most suitable before trying it on ourselves, cause that’s much harder.”

It turned out that practising, or rather trying to learn, even the first form of Obscurantis was more difficult for her friends than Riko had thought. And it was obviously in mostly her fault for forgetting that they had a very different background of thinking of magic. Her first hint on this was when they started to try and cast it using their wands.

“Ah, no, stop. Not like that at all. Sorry, I should have explained it better. Alright, this is not a wizarding spell, so it doesn’t need a wand. It’s probably possible to do that, but I think it will make it more difficult. After all, if you cast the spell on something by pointing your wand at it, you’re acknowledging it’s there. Now, the relevant part of the spell is to picture the target fade from this world. That doesn’t mix well, I’d say, right?”

They sat in a circle on the floor with crossed legs and Riko took a deep breath and forced herself to start thinking as if she knew nothing but what she had learned about British magic so far. “Alright, I’ll try and explain better, sorry, this has different roots and so it works a little differently from what you might know. Perhaps we should try learning wand based invisibility spells, but I actually think that not needing a wand for this is a good thing...anyway..”

“Firstly, using a wand is just one tradition of working magic among many, but it can become a crutch. Your mind gets so fixed on needing a wand to work magic at all that you’ll have a much harder time learning other kinds of magic. Da told me that ’cause he had exactly that problem and it’s one of the reasons he wanted me to start with learning easy, small spells that don’t need a wand.”

“Now, working magic without a wand or other focus is more difficult. It requires sharp senses and intuition and even then the results are usually more straightforward than many of the elaborate effects you can get with a wand. Unless you know exactly what you’re doing and are really, seriously skilled, that is.

Hm, or using added tools. And incantations work differently too, I think. Anyway, the point is, this makes it both easy and hard in our case. I’m guessing you’ve always used your wand for magic? And before, magic was just something that surprised you by appearing?” They looked uncertainly at her but Riko waited patiently for their answers.

“I’ve had my wand since I was seven, not really sure how I did it before then. I think I remember being able to just find things and know when something was wrong and letting things break, but I’m really not sure.” Vi was playing absently with the string that held her hair back in the nape of her neck, her voice thoughtful. Riko nodded.

“Alright, that might make it difficult, but you also seem to have a natural affinity for sneaking, so that might actually be the best spell to break that habit. How about the rest?”

“Well, before that letter came I didn’t really know I was magic at all. I.. well, I’d read books and some comics and I thought maybe I was a mutant or something like that.” Hermione looked a little embarrassed but continued at their questioning looks.

“When I really tried I could slip through things, like through a door, or a wall, and once I fell from the first floor through the downstairs into the cellar and I was really scared because I was sinking into the ground, but then somehow I just bounced out. My parents were out at the time, luckily. But I couldn’t always do it, even if I concentrated.”

Riko was very impressed by this and she showed it with a whistle. “Wow, that’s great! It means you might have a relatively easy time learning wandless spells. Can you still do it? It might be the best way to get you started in drawing your magic out directly.”

“Oh, well, I don’t know, I haven’t tried it since I got my letter. I will, though.. I can’t really just sink into the ground or get stuck in a wall, can I?” Hermione grinned.

Riko smiled in reply. “Well, considering what you said, I think it’s unlikely. You were probably using your magic instinctively to get out of such situations, now you just need to learn how to do it if you want to.”

It was too much effort to stop herself from gleefully rubbing her hands together. If those unconscious bouts of magic told anything about the character of their people, Riko thought it was a very clear hint that Hermione would make great company for a master-thief. She turned with a happy smile to Edie, who was nervously chewing on a strand of hair that had escaped her pony tail.

When she spoke, hesitantly, she was tense and oddly distant. “When I was small, I used to just find things, and sometimes make them fly or light up. Then I had.. an accident, when I was six, and after that I didn’t show magic for a while. When I did, it was usually by spontaneously repairing something or other, and once I.. protected my little brother from some stray dogs.”

The girl shook her head lightly as if to dislodge the memory and Riko, though curious, bit her tongue, letting her continue. This was obviously upsetting her friend and she could try to find out more about why her cueroscope was wriggling at some other time. Some accident, huh.

“For a while we didn’t think I could go to Hogwarts at all, I just got my letter in August and my wand just a few days after. I had only a few bouts of spontaneous magic in years.” Edie looked shyly down and Riko hastened to reassure her.

“Well, that’s no problem, you did after all have bouts of spontaneous magic and so far you’re obviously doing right fine in classes, too. But you’ll probably have to use a similar strategy as Vi, starting with the effect you want to achieve and then drawing will and power into it. Hermione’ll probably have an easier time willing the power for the spell-construct up first, then placing it on the target and then forming the effect.”

“Now, it’s really up to you, which bit of the whole process, or perhaps the entire thing, you link to the incantation. I linked it to the bit where you settle the effect into the finished power-construct, but that’s because I was already used to drawing up such things. You’ll have to find out yourself how it works best for you.”

“But...it’s the incantation, that’s the carrier, isn’t it, especially if it doesn’t have a wand gesture..?” Hermione sounded confused and Riko saw the others look at her with similar expressions. For a moment she was confused as well, then she realized she’d done it again.

“Er, no, not as such. I mean, yes, in a way it does, but it still depends on how you learn it.” This was obviously not a very good answer and she grimaced and buried her hands in her hair for a moment before trying again.

“Incantations are really just words. Now, we know that words have power and that there’s a reason why a certain incantation is used for a certain spell. There’s words more suited than others, which is why there’s still people researching the streamlining of incantations. But still, words are very much what the caster makes them into. Even more with spells that are just straightforward action done by the caster. Each word, even each syllable is simply a way to help the caster form magical energies in a certain way.”

She gathered her fringe behind her ears and gestured intently, this was after all a very important point. “That’s why it doesn’t matter much if you whisper a spell or shout it. Saying it out loud helps with the pronunciation which in turn helps your mind work and shape magic energy in a manner associated with the words. Well, and you get the bonus, so to speak, of the incantation’s resonance, making it easier.

You could just say the words in your head though. But you don’t really need to, it’s just how people learn it best. That’s also why similar spells exist in very different languages. Or around different languages, more like, what with the interference common word meanings like to cause, which is why knowing the root language helps but can also get in the way, if you get literal in spells and such, crossing meanings..”

They all nodded. Professor Flitwick had been plenty clear after all, and it was logical enough if you followed the argumentation. Now to properly drive the entire argumentation home.

“Now, every person thinks a little differently, and it’s clear there are lots of different ways to come to one result.” They could still agree to that, and Riko nodded back, licking her lips.

“So, there you have it. It’s not very clear with the spells we’re currently learning, ’cause they’re sort of finished products, streamlined for a certain effect, so that most all of the little adjustments one might want to or have to make are already condensed. But even here you still have some leeway, that’s why the same spells cast by different people can succeed but still show different effects, shades of colour and such f’rexample.”

Riko leaned forward, stressing the point again. “So, you see, it really is almost entirely up to you what word or syllable you link to what bit of a spell’s casting. It could also be a gesture of the fingers, or the toes, or whatever. There’s lots of examples in the Asian room and my Mom’s place of the use of finger gestures or gestures in general for certain spells.”

Edie nodded thoughtfully, adding her own view. “In Europe there are still some old spells that work like that, with gesturing of hands. That’s from the time before wands were so commonly used, I’d say..”

“But even those spells use certain documented gestures, so if you want to learn the spell you learn those gestures, right?” Hermione argued, then answered herself. “Well, unless that’s just how they were taught. So, theoretically everyone could just make up their own spells?”

“Heh, for, ah, direct-effect-spells, sure, and if we lived in a world full of geniuses, that might work.” Vi gave a dry half-smile at that, “but as is, enough people already have a hard time learning the spells as they are, because even if they’re streamlined, you still need to know some things about what you’re trying to do. Precision and will, that is what makes it work, and work right.”

“Yeah, that, and some spells, specially older ones and in conjuring and such, really do require certain phrases in certain languages and certain gestures to focus and form the magic, else you get either no effect at all or a vicious backlash. But you could, if you wanted, cast Lumos by saying Lioht or Fish or wriggling your toe. It might be harder, as far as Lumos is hard, y’know, but it would work if you direct the energy right.”

Edie nodded again, her amber eyes glittering with interest. “It’s got to be incredibly hard to, well, directly direct every single little bit of magic so that it does what you want, I mean in bigger spells. Of course you can still make up your own set of gestures and words for the relevant parts, but that’s got to be a lot of work, too, and why would you do that if you can just buy a book that tells you how to get it right and most efficient..”

Riko grinned. “Right, it’s just so much easier to use your wand for everything and use the tried and trusted spells as frameworks. But _this_ spell is done without a wand. And as you will be the ones learning it’s relevant parts all by your selfsome, you’ll be the ones to decide what to link to what. You could use a completely different word or gesture, too, if you wanted.”

Riko felt a comfortable warmth in her guts as they all enjoyed a moment of shared understanding, then Hermione grinned and answered.

“Nah, I think Obscurant works pretty well as a word. So, we’ll be starting with something other than ourselves, right? How will I know if it worked? I mean, I’ll after all know what I did, and I can hardly just ask someone, ‘say, do you see that hidden thing there, you know at that place I’m pointing at, calling attention to it’?”

They shared a grin at that, and Riko had to think for a moment. “Hm, well, it’s probably easiest to cast it on something that a person wants to use but looks away from for a bit. That way it’ll be obvious if they can’t see it any more.”

Almost as an afterthought she added, “Though probably the first thing to practice with general wandless magic would be calling up a witchlight. It’s really the best for letting you get used to drawing up power directly. You can try it in bed before going to sleep, with your wand out of reach. If you can call that up without trouble then the Obscurantis will be a lot easier, because you don’t have to focus on quite so many unfamiliar things while working the spell.”

Riko settled back a little, going over how she’d usually call up such a witchlight, something she usually did without even thinking. “I think I use a gesture, though not a very distinct one. Or, no, well, it’s a bit like a mental hand wave.” She scratched her head in though, trying to remember being very young.

“When I first learned it, I used to form a little cup with my hand and it would appear in there. But really, I was perhaps three when I did that. Usually, now, I just picture a sort of point where I want it to appear, but before that I imagined the point running along a line and then it made a spike or wave at the place where I wanted the witchlight to appear. But as I said, how you picture it or build it or construct it is completely up to you.”

She gave them a sheepish smile at that. Riko didn’t really know just how she’d be able to help them, but she’d try to in any case. They looked equally hesitant and intrigued by this unknown thing they were trying to learn. With only her as a teacher, now that was a strange thought. Riko drew her wand from her sleeve and laid it behind her, mainly for their sake.

After all, to her it was simply an odd tool she was only just getting used to, so the risk that it influence her summoning a small witchlight was non-existent, really. But she thought that even if they wouldn’t take their wand in hand, just the knowledge that it was right along their arm would change how they tried to work the spell, inadvertently trying to use it as a conduct.

She willed up a small, blueish ball of light, growing gradually brighter because she had pictured it like that. Using her hand to direct it, she let it fly in a small circle, wriggling here and there to evade their curious, reaching hands, then had it settle in her hair and grinned at them.

“Right, there you have it. If you have any questions, fire at will. I don’t want any parchment on this, but if you want to have any notes you have to make them yourselves. I can try to make a diagram, downstairs, but really, I’m sure you’re all bright enough to get that done with just your heads.”

“Pff, oh, quiet you!” grumbled Hermione good-naturedly at Riko’s half-assed imitating of McGonagall.

The others giggled and they all laid their wands behind them. Riko closed her eyes to better concentrate on feeling the magic around her without calling up her Demon Eyes, hoping to be of help by perceiving what exactly they did and where they might hit a problem. She needn’t have worried, though. In only a few minutes they were all able to conjure a small ball of light in their palm, moving it around with hand gestures.

Well, picturing light was quite likely the most instinctive thing one could do, which might explain why it was usually the first thing people learned. Regardless, Riko was very impressed they had been able to do it so quickly, especially Vi who had her wand the longest.

It was also obviously very exhausting, judging from their tight faces. Sweat was breaking out on their foreheads and their hands were starting to shake after just a few minutes. Riko clapped, feeling worried. She didn’t want them to collapse or anything.

“Alright, fantastic, you are definitely brilliant and here’s the proof. Now quit it already, ok? You all look about ready to drop, and I’m not sure I can transport you all to the hospital wing.” She smiled at them proudly, letting them know she really did mean her praise.

They all leaned back, gasping for breath and occasionally shivering a bit. Riko was eyeing them with a bit of trepidation and wondered if she should make a trip down to the kitchen and get them something to eat or drink, but they seemed to recover quickly.

Vi was the first to react to Riko’s worried looks. “We’re fine, no need to overreact,” she said, a satisfied if tired smile round her eyes.

“Yes, don’t worry, I think we’ll all be fine in a few minutes. Though I think I won’t try this again until I’m in bed today. Or perhaps a little before that, but either way, you stop worrying now, or else!” Hermione smiled at her proudly.

“Yeah, we’re not going to be done in by a little light!” Edie gave her a mischievous smile and leaned forward to rest her arms on her legs, “How come this is so stressful for us and you’re sitting there as if you’ve forgotten you have a whisp hiding your hair?”

Riko smiled with relief when the other two joined into the questioning. “Well, there’s two reasons for that. One is that I’m used to doing this and doing it without a wand. So my mind, and body, and well, magic-channels or whatever, are used to the required energies, how they flow, all of that stuff..”

Absently she tucked some hair behind her ear again before continuing. They were her friends, she could trust them, and they all knew about Vi, well, about Vi’s official problem, already, so it wouldn’t be fair not share this.

“Reason two is my mother. From her side of the family I got a bigger reservoir of magical reserves and the ability to channel larger amounts of energy than would be considered normal. Well, the potential for it, really, it still needs training and time to really build those up. If you want to, you can try and look up legends on Dark Schneider if you ever have too much time on your hands. He’s my grandfather, or grandmother more exactly, but that’s a story I’m not going to tell you without any special circumstances..”

She shrugged with an impish grin that was admittedly a little tense, but it was easy enough to relax as they made no fuss about it, letting her continue, “Anyway, if you do this more often, you’ll get used to handling and directing the energy and you’ll be able to forget your whisp same as me.” She let the glowing ball of magical energy jump before letting it wink out.

Vi gave a dry chuckle. “Heh, I see it’s gonna be a while until we can hide in plain sight. But I think I have one advantage regarding that.” She looked like a smug cat, eyeing them contently with unholy amusement in her eyes. “’Cause I won’t have to train like crazy to learn just the basics about duelling, the way you will. I’ll just be the one telling you to work harder.”

They groaned before grinning excitedly at each other. They had all looked forward to this and were ready to work as much as necessary to help their friend out. Vi noticed, judging from her quick smile, uncommonly not half or dry, just happy, before she cleared her throat.

“Alright, this lesson will have two parts, and while I, too, don’t want any parchments on this, I do expect you to do your homework. I will give you the titles of some books, and you will take the time to read through them and learn the spells mentioned in them. For the practical part I’ll start with a few spells that I consider the absolute basics, especially for the situation we’re in.”

Riko had to hand it to her, Vi’s version of McGonagall stern voice was far more realistic. But her good mood broke through as she finished it with a sharp grin and the words “Alright, let’s get started with the fastest way to draw your wand...”

The rest of the afternoon was over much too fast, even though it was very tiring. After she’d demonstrated how one of the fastest ways to draw your wand was to have it jump into your hand, meaning it should be in the sleeve of your wand arm, Vi explained a few different ways of rigging up a sort of improvised wand-holder.

Then she set them to practising, to test their not-quite-springloaded holders and get them used to the movements. Triggering the release was relatively easy but it’d take a while to get it right without concentrating on it, and as the movement used muscles in a way they were not used to they would certainly have some soreness in their arms and hands for a while. Catching the wand just right wasn’t as easy as Vi made it look like, either, and they all resigned themselves to a lot of practice.

Then, to prevent cramps by overworking muscles that had never been used in such a manner, Vi started them on casting, or rather learning to cast, what she considered the most basic spells. While they were trying to get the simple Stinging Hex, Calcar, right, she explained it’s big advantage, namely that it could be used to cancel most other hexes in flight, and consequently drilled them on stances.

Soon they were paired off and busy anticipating their partner’s moves and aiming at the other’s hexes. And dodging. And being corrected by Vi whenever they messed it up, which was more often than not. And then she added in Expelliarmus and Protego, explaining the different ways to use both the disarming and standard shield charm to best effect.

Expelliarmus was essentially just kinetic energy with a small twist for it’s function so that, depending on the force with which it was cast, it could shove or even throw people back. Protego, though lasting for only one attack, reflected by default most spells, giving it potential offensive capabilities if angled just right. A weaker alternative to Expelliarmus was Flipendo, which was shorter but only knocked the opponent over without disarming them.

Almost like an afterthought Vi added Stupefy, a stunning curse, to the set, arguing that the worst that could happen was that their target was either unconscious or at the very least befuddled and it could also interrupt spells of different sorts. It also made an easier target than the stinging hex, as it was a rather obvious bolt of red energy as opposed to the hardly visible white shadow of Calcar.

Though it took her longer to get the spells right, and she had a few embarrassing failures when casting them in mid-fight, Riko was proud of her performance. Owing to her good hand-eye coordination she hit her target most often and thanks to her quick reflexes and previous combat training she was very good at dodging, making it almost impossible to hit her. Nonetheless, she was as tired as the others when they finished.

Vi was a relentless taskmistress, rewarding each success by stepping up her expectations. In short order Riko also understood why Vi had added Stupefy to their training session. The more proficient they became with Calcar, the more it hurt when it connected, even just in glancing. Soon they had rips in their clothes and scratches and small cuts, too. Vi called a halt and treated them all with Reparo and Cutisarcio, healing their clothes and skin respectively.

Edie knew both spells already and Hermione had read about them, casting them after just a short demonstration. Riko practised under their tutelage, but it was evening, two breaks later, until she could cast them without mistake. She was damn glad for it when she managed that.

While she could heal her own scratches easy enough and letting a Sartor spell ripple over the material of already existing clothes took care of the rips, it wouldn’t do not to know those spells. If only so she could help her friends, because even though the Sartor could repair their clothes, she had no experience in healing other’s injuries.

She could just pour energy into them, Riko supposed, letting the body decide how best to heal itself, but she really didn’t want to take any chances on it. She’d have to learn it somehow. Perhaps she could ask them if they’d let her try and examine them with her magic so that she could know how everything was supposed to work. That way, when they were hurt, she’d know exactly what she wanted to repair. Either way, it was obviously something that both could and had to wait.

By now dusk was falling and dinner would be served already. Settling back with some satisfaction after casting both spells correctly on herself and Hermione, repeatedly, Riko laid her wand behind her. Her friends took the hint immediately.

“I think after this, dinner will get us up and running just enough to do some homework in the library, and you can try again before going to sleep, ok?” Riko grinned, as they sat in a circle with her again. “Not that I don’t want to keep up your training, Vi. But this way you can also give us the titles of those books and we can get them while working on the homework.”

Vi smiled back drily and raised an eyebrow, but she nodded graciously. Riko continued, “I’d say we plan the house-time thing tomorrow, that way you can all check the coast a bit, and try and come up with ideas. And we have Hagrid to visit tomorrow. ’Cause, even if we have lots and lots to train, exploring the castle and grounds is still one of our projects. And besides, Hagrid is friendly enough that we can spend some break time with him, yeah?”

Everyone agreed and they set to conjuring their witchlights. After a few hiccups resulting in short flickers they all managed to summon a little whisp, and much faster than before, too. They were even able to hold them in existence about twice as long as before. Considering how they’d spent their afternoon this was definitely good progress and Riko told them so, calling to a stop when they started showing the same signs of fatigue.

Afterwards she took great care in scouting their way because her friends were almost dozing with exhaustion as they made their way to dinner, again at the Hufflepuff table. It was quite full by then and people were too caught up over the start of the weekend to notice or bother themselves over a few first-years slinking to the end of the table nearest to the door. Dinner was very quiet and even working on their homework in their corner of the library notable more subdued than usual.

When they parted, everyone except Vi had also a different book on hexes or jinxes. They had found that the library did not stock _The Dueller’s Dictionary (Effective One and Two-Syllable Hexes)_ nor _A Duellist’s Companion (The Fastest Ways to Fell Your Adversaries)_ , not even _A Complete Introduction into Duelling (For the Beginnings of Proving Yourself)_.

They had however found a few books on the history of duelling and famous duellists that were quite detailed. It would have to do for the time being. Vi had a few books in her trunk but they were too advanced to do them any good. Riko made a mental note to order all three from Flourish and Blotts as the library closed and they said their good-nights, agreeing to meet for an early breakfast again.

Riko was bone tired when she trailed down the steps into the Lair but she forced herself to head for the group of her yearmates, arranged on a trio of couches. Flopping down silently on the couch that had Antonia on one end and Blaise on the other, Riko leaned back and rested her eyes for a moment despite the two presences on her flanks. She also gathered her wits for what was bound to come.

Silvio was discussing some finer points about today’s potion and how one might modify it to what effect with Draco, while Crabbe and Goyle were playing gobstones on a stretch of stone floor. On the third couch Farrah, Cynthia, Dita, and Em were talking about quidditch, apparently the wizard equivalent of football on broomsticks, and trying to convince Cynthia of the relative benefits of their respective favourite teams. Antonia and Blaise both had a thick book on their lap, alternating between reading and watching and listening to the others.

With a sigh, Riko leaned down to her rucksack and drew the similarly massive _Early History of Wand-based Duels_ into her lap. It was an older book, judging from the occasional randomly added ‘e’ and ‘y’, which made reading a bit bothersome. After a few pages she leaned down again with a small sigh to fish out a parchment to make notes, she’d never get anywhere otherwise. Of course that was the opportunity for anyone trying to flat-foot her.

“Well, well, look who remembered she’s a Slytherin after all...” Draco’s drawl was similar enough to remind Riko anew that he was indeed Lord Malfoy’s son. However, he didn’t have the sharp edges of his father and Riko wouldn’t even _start_ taking any crap from this boy, regardless of her plan on making a wholesome apology to all her housemates.

“Kind of hard to forget, considering that I sleep in this very dormitory and all.” She gave him a mild smile and her voice was light, though it let some steel show. In her peripheral vision she could see that all her yearmates were now watching and listening.

“And that is about all of it, isn’t it? You pretty much ignored us after that first evening. What kind of manners is that, hm?” Antonia looked at her coolly and Riko blinked at the hard eyes and voice, her own face settling into a blank mask on reflex.

Hastily banishing it she cleared her throat. “Pretty bad ones, admittedly, though it wasn’t intentional, if that makes it any better.”

She looked Antonia straight into the eyes as she spoke with a level voice, knowing she owed this girl even more of an apology than the others, after she’d helped her out with her story and all. The thoughts she had fallen asleep with after that first evening came back to her and she sighed. Closing her book, she turned to properly face the other girl.

“I’m really sorry for acting so thoughtlessly, and after you helped me out, too. Please accept my apology.”

Antonia bit her lip and looked away and Riko turned to Malfoy when he spoke up again, covering for his friend. “Well, that’s a sudden change of heart, what brought that about, hm? What do you want now?”

Giving the boy with the pale grey eyes a dry smile, Riko answered the first question. “Well, yesterday Gray visited me in the hospital wing, and asked me if, and why, I didn’t get along with you all. I told him I liked you just fine. And he said that I sure didn’t seem to. That made me think, and, as I mentioned, I realized I’ve been real rude, even if it wasn’t intentional.”

“Hence this apology,” she finished and inclined her head once to everyone.

“You ignore us for two weeks and then we’re just supposed to forget it? Gray didn’t even say what happened when he told me to bring your potions stuff. And your things are a complete chaos! Who puts their notes and everything in the cauldron and then hides that under their bed?” Antonia seemed most miffed by the second offence and Riko gave her a small smile.

“Well, I’m telling you now, see? After Astronomy yesterday I ran into some upper years ambushing my Hufflepuff. Now, I don’t know any good hexes or jinxes yet so I went for their leader the old-fashioned way. Course she was standing in front of a stairway. So down we went only for Professor Sprout to run almost over us. She took ten points from Gryffindor and gave me five for Slytherin and then she said I had to go to the hospital wing.”

Riko gave a shrug and embarrassed smile as if to say, ‘well, what can you do’ and added with a practicedly sincere smile and a wink “And sorry about the chaos. At the time it made sense to put everything potiony in the cauldron, but I admit it’s not a good long-term solution.”

“And now you just show up, acting as if nothing happened. So tell us, what do you want now?” Draco’s drawl was a solid shade of nonchalant, his tone still cool, but it couldn’t quite hide his wary curiosity. That was puzzling to Riko, the wary part, but she shrugged and replied honestly.

“Well, I ignored all of you for two weeks, so now I want to apologize. I thought we’d covered that already.” Her quizzical look seemed to confuse him even more in turn. How odd.

“Ye-es, and this would result in what exactly?” It was obviously a leading question, but Riko was stumped as to what Draco was getting at, so why not blunt it out?

“Well, ideally you’d all say something like ‘well, you were really thoughtless, don’t do it again’ and I’d say ‘No, of course not!’ and make a point of spending at the very least a few days a week as a proper Slytherin with you all. I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate sorting Slytherin, or being in a house with you all, and I understand I owe you being at least some sort of housemate as opposed to just a guest sleeping in your dorm.”

Riko shrugged again. From his look she hadn’t even come close to whatever Draco had meant, and he couldn’t quite decide if he wanted to be annoyed or perplexed at her thick-headedness.

“Uh-huh. And none of this would have to do with expecting some sort of backup or protection from any of us, should you run into any trouble again?” As he finally spelled it out, Riko noticed his voice was gradually warmed by smug sort of amusement. Her confused face seemed to entertain him even more, but when she broke into spontaneous laughter at his reply he was back to being perplexed.

“Ah, no, that’s sweet, thanks, but no thanks...” Riko grinned and waved a hand negligently. “See, that’s nothing to do with my being a Slytherin. That’s me being myself and personal projects and of course I wouldn’t want any of you to get drawn into the results of my tragic if entertaining madness.”

Seeing the odd looks of Draco and the others, Riko shrugged with a slight smile. “Well, I said I’d be a better housemate, but there’s only so much improvement possible. I mean, yes, I’ll spend more time here with you, right proper and everything, but I’m not going to stop hanging out with my friends. And since any potential trouble I get up to won’t be related to house matters it’d make no sense to drag my housemates into it.”

Then she winked and added with a roguish grin, “I’d recommend you view any of those potentially troublesome situations as entertainment or distraction kindly provided by yours truly. I won’t lose us points, and I can take care of myself. So thanks for the kind offer,” she gave an only slightly ironic nod to Draco, “but I neither need nor want protection from any of you. I deal with my own matters.”

Riko smirked with some amusement at the mix of befuddlement, scepticism, and amusement her housemates were now showing. She leaned back and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for them to come to a decision. It was a decent offer, if they could agree to overlook her thoughtless behaviour of the last two weeks. Of course it’d leave her with a bit of a debt but as they still seemed to think about it, she continued belatedly.

“And in my defence I want to add that I’m not at all used to having to deal with so many people at once. So if you could just chalk up the last two weeks as a sort of acclimatisation, I’d really appreciate it. Not that I don’t mean my apology, just explaining how it came to the whole mess.” Smiling sheepishly at them, she paid close attention, cataloguing and gauging their reaction.

It was odd how she was hardly worried about this, as opposed to today’s talk with her friends. She supposed that, even if they decided to be annoying about it, she’d still get by somehow, whereas just the idea of hurting her friends made her miserable and helpless. It seemed she didn’t have to worry however, because the others were looking mostly amused now.

“Oh, alright already.” Draco waved magnanimously with his pale, fine-boned hand, giving her an insolent smirk. “But in exchange for all the time you were not available as a proper housemate I’ll want to have a look at your Charms notes of that time.”

Riko laughed. “Really, and here I would’ve thought Transfiguration? You’re pretty good in Charms after all. Or perhaps History of Magic, since you seem naturally resistant to the boredom of it on account of immediately falling asleep?”

“Oh, he’s just curious ’cause Flitwick is always so entertained by your ‘refreshing viewpoints’ in class...” Antonia half-smiled with a shrug.

Riko smiled back, happy with relief, before addressing Draco again. “My notes aren’t going to do you any good for that. I’m just still getting used to using a wand for magic..”

“..How else would you start practising proper magic?” Antonia asked, just a little haughty.

Draco quickly forgot his disappointed pout and answered, proud to be in the know. “Many cultures, for example in Asia, have different traditions for using magic, such as using finger gestures combined with incantations and occasionally such things as amulets. Such spells are usually rather simple, though, with rather straight-forward effects.”

Riko couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow at the tone of superiority, but she didn’t feel like getting into an argument about the relative merits of this or that system of magic right now, and was even less interested in having to discuss their principles and range of potential effects. She just nodded and gave him a dry smile. “Hm, kinda sums up the basic difference.”

“They’re also usually a good deal more powerful, which is hardly surprising with all the energy directly concentrated on one task. They’re usually for bigger fights and battles, or projects. Magic, that is not-wand magic, isn’t so much a household commodity as a powerful tool, there. At least that’s how it’s in my father’s family traditions.”

Farrah’s voice was dry and serious, but she ended with a polite nod and smile at both Riko and Draco. Then she turned back to the other three girls and they continued their previous conversation about quidditch. Riko gave Draco a small grin, to show that she wouldn’t contradict that, and then bowed her head over her reopened book. It seemed everything was resolved, and to her satisfaction, too. Absently she smoothed her parchment and tried to find where she had left off.

“Now what are you reading that musty old book for? I bet you’ll fall asleep over it any minute now. At least you don’t look like a drenched vagrant, again.” Draco really had a very peculiar brand of charm, Riko mused with a small sigh.

“Yeah, what were you getting up to this Saturday, anyway?” Antonia fell in, and Riko almost laughed. The two of them were very much alike, really, and at least as nosy as she herself.

“Hm, I’ll tell you, but only if you’ll tell me what last night was all about. You didn’t really set Potter up for Filch, right? Because he could really call you out for that, if he wasn’t completely clueless..” Riko shot back with a teasing smile at Draco.

Waiting for his answer she shut the book with a small sigh, admitting to herself she likely would have fallen asleep over it pretty soon, and leaned back, settling in for an extended conversation. As it turned out, Draco and Vincent had indeed intended to meet Potter for the duel but had gotten caught by Filch on their way up to the ground floor.

Remembering Farley’s words after the feast, he had claimed they’d been looking for Filch’s office after overhearing Potter would meet someone there on a dare. It was then entertaining to see their reactions when she told them of being shown around the Forbidden Forest and of the dangerous animals that lived there. It was especially hilarious how they asked the same thing Hermione had asked Hagrid, namely if there were any werewolves in the forest.

“Nah, but everyone’s always asking that. Hagrid says it’s because a transformed werewolf looks a lot like a Direwolf. But really, s’logical, werewolves are people most of the time, why would they want to live in a forest that’s filled with all sorts of dangerous beasts? There’s spiders the size of oxen and what-not. I really wouldn’t want to meet one of those unicorns without Hagrid around, they are super-grumpy and their horns make vicious wounds..”

In the developing discussion it turned out Draco had heard some bad rumours about Hagrid, thinking him a dim servant and regular drunk, prone to setting fire to his bed while trying to do magic. It made Riko bristle.

After that she made it a point, in her description of all the fun and interesting things Hagrid had shown them, to make him look more like a sort of ersatz-teacher for Care of Magical Creatures. Considering how bummed they had all been to have to wait until third year to take the subject, it ought to raise Hagrid in her housemates estimation.

Then Antonia commented on her book again and after some more discussion and selective explanations about the situation even offered to lend her _Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed_. From her look this wasn’t just an I-forgive-you, it was also a favour owed, or rather an offer of such debt. Riko accepted mostly out of curiosity, but also because she appreciated the in, even if it was an invitation to owe the girl a favour.

All in all it was an entertaining and informative evening and Riko slipped into a cautious enjoyment of the amusingly labyrinthine structure, the naturally competitive nature and the quid-pro-quo character of her yearmates’ interactions. It really wasn’t that much different from the structure and politics of most groups of street kids she’d met, if you ignored the additional layers of polished surface. When she crawled into bed, Riko fell asleep immediately, remembering only in the morning to send Korra off with an order for the three books Vi had recommended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The magical theory - or theories rather - of this chapter are as subjective as the rest of this work, although they are not, as such, wrong, as regards the world-as-built-in-my-head.  
> As to why Riko doesn’t properly introduce Faerie magic as what and how it is? Well, firstly, that wouldn’t be very discreet, now would it, and I imagine she doesn’t see what it might help with the actual working of spells, because she’s just like that, so the idea doesn’t even really occur.  
> Also, she is rather, err, "whatever works - and works best" so while, yes, Eliria-sensei did mention e.g. words of power aka true names, Riko wasn’t interested enough to really dig into it. Too easily distracted by other shiny things to put much work into digging up another source of magic when she already is one.


	11. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time moves on and, given notice and some competence, people find ways to deal with their surroundings. as people do, as is general knowledge. *shrugs* (descriptive chapter. settling into routines is rearely very dramatic, though their make-up and forms are often still interesting)

It was less than a week, yes, but the time until Hermione’s birthday passed unreasonably fast even so. With their new schedule it was not easy to organize something for their friend but it didn’t stop them: neither Korra nor Will spent much time in the owlery or their private cages in those few days, busy delivering short notes between Riko, Edie, and Vi, and then letters to the select outside sources for gifts.

Over the weekend they devised the plan of spending Monday to Wednesday with their housemates, barring emergencies of course, and Riko was shocked by the differences it made. For one, even with none of them in any clubs and thus Saturdays entirely their own, it ate up so damn much time! And just when she was trying to set up Hermione’s birthday, gods and spirits, wasn’t enough of her time stuck in planned activities already??

For another, it was downright scary how thoroughly and badly she’d underestimated the entire Slytherin situation. It was literally a snake pit, right down to the habitants receiving snake names like a sort of initiation, making them right and proper members of the house. Like Flinton, the prefect, whose nickname Bismark came from being declared the Bismark Ringed Python, or Cueverdas, who was often simply called the Asp.

Of course you didn’t get that for free, you had to do something or other, prove yourself worthy and all that. Riko wasn’t yet clear as to how, exactly, but it couldn’t be that hard. Most third years already seemed to have one, at least from what she managed to scout out (not their names-slash-titles, or just a few, keeping as much distance and being as careful as possible of the year that held two of Vi’s bothersome relatives, but the fact that Muriel was just miffed she hadn’t got named yet, that sort of thing).

What. Riko still did most of her homework with her friends; the idea of being visible and available for interaction without knowing the first thing about any of those people was laughable and insane. For now it was enough to be sufficiently seen ‘in company’, meaning in the Lair or around housemates, and have some carefully-managed interaction with her yearmates, just to start off, because Slytherin was also a snake pit in a far less harmless way.

Like any court ever, her house was filled with sharp, layered, scheming people, who all had their own goals and interests, and strange nets and ties of blood and obligation between them, and people in the wings, including outside society, just waiting for a hint to act in any of the games and dealings Riko couldn’t even start to understand yet. With the sheer number of links, most into already well-established, not to say ancient, familes but also to determined gonna-rise-ers, this was fantastic, really, no matter how much trouble it was right now, with her lack of official connections or backing and being an obvious freak and all.

Because yes, of course there was no getting away from that, ever, k’so. Not enough that they had to know of her, much less increasingly _about_ her, no, that part was the same all over the school, and her house was no different. People looking at her, their eyes going as far as her hair or her prominently visible cat’s eyes, and that was all they saw.

Freak, mixed-breed, weird, polluted blood, and freak, freak, freak, she overheard that one often enough, or some snide variations, some even amused themselves wondering what sorts of tests one could do to find out potential uses. Way to make one feel safe in one’s own lair, really. (And that was without counting the mentions on her family, or Vi’s, or their friendship-alliance-whatever.) And although Gray stuck to calling her Riko she was of course, and admittedly with good cause, to most just some variant of _that Slyver_ , which, just.. gah..

Life might’ve been much easier if she’d got sorted into Hufflepuff with Vi. But she was here now and anyway, this had to be pretty much the best training ever for her chosen profession. So what if it’d take some work? It’d be a continued game of hide and seek, of favours traded and all that, which she could handle well enough, never boring but easy to retreat from, if need be. And Professor Snape did keep a tight watch on all goings-on, very sharp and insistent on “keeping things civilized”.

At least with this set-up Riko could be sure that if she positioned herself properly she needn’t worry about people poking or prodding unasked-for into her business. Because that had her far more on edge than any remarks about freakishness or whatever. It pained her, every little bit she had to let anyone know about her, had her lie awake, to plan and plot and manage, to build a proper, deflective persona, that was the goal here. Admittedly, that was going to take serious work, and the sudden gain of about fourscore sharp, dangerous cousins might have intimidated many. But then, she was just a small, unimportant fish in this pond, and said cousins had enough reasons to be busy with each other, so it really wasn’t that bad. It’d take some getting used to, yes, but Obscurantis _was_ a fantastic advantage and staying under the radar in general wasn’t that hard, either.

And besides, she wasn’t so stupid to build a persona that wasn’t a proper facet, or angle, of herself, just a modulated translation so to speak, and there were still the days that weren’t house days. Like when they visited Hagrid on Saturday afternoon. He was already finished with his tour for the day, so instead they had a nice talk over tea and some rock cakes that truly deserved their name. They had to soak in tea unless one wanted to break one’s teeth.

Then, on Monday, Riko was called into Professor Snape’s office and informed she was to join the first Flying lesson of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw on Tuesday, to be prepared for the regular lesson on Thursday. When asked about the Herbology lesson she’d be missing he looked at her oddly, just flat-out unreadable, before informing her it was Professor Sprout who had suggested it to him, having already cleared the matter with Madam Hooch.

His colleague trusted Ms Slyver would be able to acquire the content of her lesson more easily by herself than the basics Madam Hooch taught in her first lesson, he said. The intense and thoughtful way he was eyeing her was somewhat unsettling but he didn’t question or even comment, simply nodded when she thanked him and bade him a good night.

Riko mused on this as she fell asleep. The professor’s bias against Gryffindors was legendary, but both Edie and Vi had said that while he was demanding and impatient with people he thought were stealing the class’s time, he was a skilled and fair teacher, rather like McGonagall. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that comparison.

Professor Snape was very clear and verbose about his dislike of the Lion house in general and Potter in particular, yes, but so far he’d neither harassed Hermione in their lessons nor remarked to Riko on her company. Meanwhile, McGonagall was forever eyeing Riko suspiciously and harping on any problem she had, in the process disapproving just as much of Vi, which was just not on at all.

At least the head of Gryffindor rarely took points, so Riko didn’t mind her too much, beyond dreading every single lesson. But, well, no getting away from it and all that. She was thinking fuzzily on the last few, seemingly random cases of losing points in Transfiguration, suddenly and without any fathomable reason wondering, comparing it to Potter losing points in Potions, when she fell asleep.

Flying on Tuesday was odd and surprisingly exhausting, considering that supposedly the broom did all the work. Madam Hooch had not just short grey hair but also yellow eyes like a hawk, which let an odd mix of comfort and annoyance well up in Riko. Nobody commented on those eyes, now did they? Bah. At least it was proof she wasn’t alone in supposedly-odd looks, and also that one could get people to get over their stupid selves. (Never mind that “odd colourings” by muggle standards was almost the norm here anyway, simply described differently, as striking and deep, sparkly and stormy and what-not..)

The Flying lesson started easy enough. They were simply to stand over a broom, already laid out on the lawn, stick their hand out over it and say (or in case of some people yell) “Up!” That worked more or less for everyone, at least after a few tries, depending on how convinced they sounded of actually wanting the broom up. Then, however, came the Flying part.

Riko watched enviously as both Vi and Edie seemed to effortlessly control their brooms while she had to constantly wrestle hers to do anything even remotely close to what she wanted. Madam Hooch soon set most of the class to practice some basic turns and gathered the three who still had the most problems. The group consisted of Riko, a Hufflepuff boy called Finch-Fletchley, and a Ravenclaw called Turpin, incidentally the girl Riko had watched running through the wall onto platform Nine-and-Three-Quartes.

Madam Hooch patiently explained how, when in use by a person, brooms were low level sentient, rather like a mule or other beast, and needed to be treated right. One should for example not be afraid, because they could sense that, and similarly one should show them a certain matter of trust and respect, so as to make them obey the simple, intuitive steering instructions. The latter was certainly Riko’s problem, she didn’t need Madam Hooch’s yellow eyes sternly boring into her as the teacher stressed that point to know it.

After all, she didn’t really worry about falling, she could take of herself well enough, really. Riko simply saw little reason to trust this odd stick, its scraggly twigs standing out in all directions, all but sparking residue so badly tuned and maintained was the spellwork on it. If it was really comparable to a mule then it was one of those vicious, grumpy ones, that hated any owner and were sold to ever worse owners on account of it.

Concentrating on expecting the more positive behaviour she had seen the other brooms give instead of her own rather dubious thoughts was hard. Only when Edie, who seemed to have natural talent in getting her broom to do whatever she wanted, touched down and made them switch brooms did it grow easier. The fact that Edie had no problems with the other broom forced Riko to accept that the problem had indeed been her outlook.

When Thursday rolled around, Riko and the others made much of Hermione over an early breakfast at their usual place on the Hufflepuff table. Their Gryffindor friend was clearly equally embarrassed and pleased when told that today she had better places to be for dinner than the Great Hall. Riko barely avoided McGonagall and Professor Sinistra taking points from Slytherin because she was so busy finalizing their plans with Vi and Edie. In the last period she had her second Flying lesson, this time in her correct group, with Hermione. It heartened Riko that her friend was similarly distrusting of her broom, having much the same problems.

Apparently, with the Potter-related chaos of last week’s lesson, Madam Hooch hadn’t had the opportunity to explain the brooms mulish nature, and when they switched brooms Hermione came to the same conclusion as Riko on Tuesday. Personally, Riko thought it also had to do with Hermione’s self-consciousness. Once Riko distracted Hermione from the other student’s potential whispers and laughs the girl had little trouble. Madam Hooch only nodded shortly when they belatedly joined the long line of students that followed the teacher through a series of increasingly difficult manoeuvres.

Nice as this-all was, over the course of the lesson Riko felt quite a few times the urge to bash the heads of Weasley and Potter together. They were prone to flying all over the place, disturbing Hermione’s and her own less effortless practices without the slightest sorry, instead resorting to rude comments. If she had to overhear one more taunt about flying obviously not being something learned by reading about it or being weird then Riko thought she just might do something drastic.

As soon as the lesson ended, Riko waved a friendly goodbye to her housemates and quickly dragged Hermione off. So far her friend didn’t seem to have made any friends or even friendlies in her house yet, indeed most Gryffindors seemed to be actively ignoring Hermione. It annoyed Riko but she didn’t mention it to her friend, instead distracting her with a steady stream of chatter about their progress in dueling and wand-less magic and questions about the book on Flying Hermione had got from the library, _Quidditch through the Ages_.

They hurried to the entrance of the second-floor room, keeping a careful look-out for any trouble. Since the incident last Thursday they had all been careful. Apparently Vi hadn’t had another run-in with her misbegotten relations but they were still on full alert. However, the coast was clear and when they entered the office Riko could already hear the murmuring voices of Edie and Vi.

“Attention, all stations, I’m bringing in our guest of honour!” Riko called out with a grin and ushered Hermione into their room proper.

Edie and Vi had worked hard to make it more inviting and had been quite successful with it. There were now a few faded floral tapestries on the walls and a desk in front of the couch, all courtesy of the downstairs storeroom. They’d also carried up chairs and brought a number of cushions in the colours of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. After they’d all hugged Hermione tightly they pressed her into the most comfortable middle spot on the couch.

The two had been finishing the last touches. There were two long cakes in the middle of the desk, close beside each other. Each of them had a single candle and they shared a flame that was obviously enchanted. Burning in a dancing ring of a flickering mane was the roaring head of a lion. Hermione seemed a little overwhelmed, visibly gathering herself when they’d all sat down in their chairs and given her another cheery “Happy Birthday!”

“I know it looks really great and all, but you’d better blow it out soon, before it completely eats the candles and starts on the cakes.” Riko grinned at her.

Hermione gave a small, slightly wavering laugh and concentrated for a moment. A small ray of freezing air shot from her wand at the flame, extinguishing it and continuing on, straight into Riko’s face, making her splutter.

Everyone laughed and Hermione grinned at them, obviously happy. “Thank you, that was really great. But why’d you make it one flame, isn’t that much more difficult?”

Riko smiled warmly at her friend, not at all surprised by the question. “Well, yes, but it was important that it be only one flame, because this is after all your first magical birthday...”

“And it wouldn’t have been any problem if my parents hadn’t sent two cakes, but as it was..”

“We couldn’t very well leave one of them without a candle, specially cause we weren’t quite sure which one you’d like better.”

Edie and Vi grinned at each other for moment, as the Hufflepuff finished talking. Hermione seemed to be close to bursting from happiness and Riko decided to play their trump card.

“Now, open your gifts already!” She wriggled her eyebrows in comical exaggeration. “Unless you’re too starved. We should also have juice and tea and sandwiches and such, if you want something not-sweet first...”

“Cutting the cakes would also be a way of opening a gift, though, wouldn’t it?” Hermione grinned teasingly, but relented as Edie thrust a package at her that clearly contained a massive book. Carefully opening the charmed wrapping paper with it’s flying books, flapping their covers like wings, her eyes widened as she saw the book, the _Complete Compendium for the Daring and Diligent Duellist_.

“It’s got all sorts of historical and background info, and also what spells were considered proper when and what-not.. I just thought you might like it, what with how you like to research everything..” Edie blushed, “it’s also got real hints and instructions and spells, but..

“Oh, that’s so great! Thank you!” Hermione’s exclamation and her obvious reluctance to lay it to the side instead of just reading it right then and there were amusing and made Edie subside, though she was still blushing and looking as happy as if she’d got the gift herself.

Vi held out her smaller package without comment, a moment’s flash of a rare, warm smile on her face. It turned out to be a wand-holder, adjustable just about every which way.

“It’s guaranteed to last at least a few years, depending on the growth of the wearer and the like,” was Vi’s shy comment, directly followed by, “So are the hardy hairbands. I noticed you sometimes get annoyed with your hair, when it escapes your hair-tie and, well, I know your pain.”

“Oh...” Hermione seemed almost at a loss for words, “that’s great, thank you!” She gave Vi a warm smile and laughed with delight when she routinely shoved her hair back from her face and one of the hairbands she still had in hand immediately snaked onto her head and collected the straggling streaks that had escaped.

“Now mine!” Riko smiled cheerfully as she reached over the cakes to shove her formless package at her friend. “And don’t try to properly unwrap it, I sort of had to resort to.. ah, desperate measures..”

Hermione giggled slightly and didn’t seem to mind ripping through the repeatedly spello-taped wrapping. As it fell out, the book bag unfolded itself, making Hermione look questioningly at Riko.

“Well, I know you’ve already got a bag, but I thought you’d like it ’cause it’s bigger on the inside, and charmed not to weight more than half a stone, and I thought with you always logging half the library along that’d be good. It’s got pockets for quills and ink and parchment, cushioning charms and all, and you can shorten the strap so you can run with it, and it closes on it’s own so you don’t have to worry about losing books even if we get into a scuffle, and you don’t always have to set it down to get to....”

“Thank you, Riko..” Hermione winked at her, and Riko smiled sheepishly as she realized her friend had used her own tried and trusted way of stopping a full-on-talking Hermione. Her friend then looked into the bag to check it’s build and found the book Riko had fought herself to put in. It was her own old and often-read copy of _Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-thief_ that she had liberated from an unappreciative library not even a year ago.

“...ah, I didn’t know how to order it from a muggle book store, so I hope you don’t mind having it second hand so to speak...I promise I didn’t read any of the letters off and since you liked _The Princess Bride_ I thought it might be something for you..” Hermione looked seriously at her and then gave her a warm smile, interrupting Riko’s resurge of rambling.

“Thank you a lot,” she said quietly, clearly appreciating the idea of giving a book, especially a book one liked, even to a friend. Riko smiled sheepishly and mumbled “any time“, blushing just a little bit, really. Then she shared a short look with the other two conspirators before clearing her throat again.

“Actually, that’s not really everything, necessarily..” At Hermione’s questioning look she smoothed her fringe behind her ears distractedly and cleared her throat again. It was ok if she made a fool of herself, Vi and Edie had her back.

“Well, it’s an optional birthday gift, so if you don’t like it, it won’t exist at all.” She shot her friend a small apologetic smile before continuing. “We just weren’t sure if you didn’t have a nickname ’cause your name doesn’t exactly lend itself to it, or ’cause you rather like your name and don’t want a nickname anyway, not that we don’t like your name or anything..”

Riko trailed off, looking at Hermione for a hint. The girl looked thoughtful and then slightly tilted her head, waiting for Riko to continue. She was also biting her lip and seemed unsure. Riko leaned forward, intending to sell this as best as she could.

“Right, so, Vi said that, ignoring unkind tales, Hermione would best derive from Hermes, the messenger god of the old Greeks, but that’s not very awesome as far as names go. His Roman equivalent, which offered itself, seeing how we’re in a latinized country, was Mercury. That’s quite nice, because it gives us both a planet and an element to play with, and as the anglicized name is quicksilver, which sounds pretty cool as well, that was a good lead.”

“But we didn’t stop there!” Riko winked with a short smile and gestured proudly. “After all, Mercury and Quicksilver are rather long, which doesn’t really do the nickname-part any credit, and the Latin’s not much better. But then I remembered a comic I’d just read before coming here. It’s about some girls who have special powers and are aligned to certain planets, which is why I thought of it with the mercury-part.”

Leaning back slightly and smiling mischievously Riko took a deep breath. “So, there’s this girl whose powers are aligned to mercury, and she’s very smart, top of her class and everything, and sometimes she’s a little shy, but when someone bothers anyone around her, especially her friends, then she’s really fierce. And, ah, that’s just kind of you, yeah, so we thought maybe, if you’d like a nickname at all, it could be Amy, because that’s what her name is in the comic..”

After that barrage was finished Hermione was staring at her, blushing and mouth open. It triggered a full-on babble in Riko, trying to explain properly and make sure she hadn’t given any offence.

“Unless that’s not enough association to mercury for you, but we thought that Merc was not a good nickname, and neither was Curie and both Quick and Silver weren’t any good either, because quick is too normal a word, and silver wouldn’t really do for you, what with you being all Gryffindor red and gold and if you don’t like, you can just ignore it, as I said, it’s not like we mind your name, we just thought you might like to have a nick of your own, which..”

Riko trailed off, when both Vi and Edie placed a hand on her arm. Hermione’s face was glowing like some of the reddish brick houses in London did during a nice sun-up and she was grinning like mad. Instead of speaking the girl simply stood up and moved around the table, hugging them all tightly. When she sat down on the couch, Hermione looked a bit like Riko had felt last Friday after being officially adopted back by her friends.

“Alright, you just sit there and relax while we set the table for the Lady Amy,” Riko winked at her and helped Edie and Vi to lay out plates and a thermos and a pitcher of pumpkin juice and towel-wrapped sandwiches and cooked eggs and some pickles and an assortment of their own sweets. It was perhaps an odd combination, but this didn’t disturb anyone in the slightest as they dug in.

They all agreed the cakes were both delicious, one a dark, chocolatey affair but with a layer of jam in the middle, the other a fresh lemon-cake that managed to be sweet and citrussy, with a hint of lemon balm and curd, all at once. Edie told them her father had first made the chocolate cake, then her mother, not knowing if the other cake was for Edie or general consumption, had made the other and since they’d been unable to decide, they had sent both.

From Edie’s fond, amused tone it wasn’t even that odd for them and Riko easily joined the laughter, even noting Vi’s more-than-usual quiet keeping to the background. The Hufflepuff seemed at-ease enough, no less than earlier, and did agree good-humouredly when Riko told Edie overly seriously to send them their thanks. Amy was immediately on board with this, even asked if she should send a note, maybe.

Of course Edie said no, she’d write them and include it, and talk was turned elsewhere and the evening was so relaxing and entertaining they almost missed the time to be in their common rooms. As it was they had to hurry, Amy taking her gifts and what little remained of the cakes in her new book bag and Vi again stuck with returning the basket.

This time, as she entered the Slytherin common room, Riko didn’t mind sitting with her group of yearmates. Since it had become a more normal occurrence to be around she was hardly ever required to talk much or participate in their politics. She could, of course, and did often enough, but it had in some silent way been agreed by all that she was somewhat removed from their direct goings-on, though of course entitled to join in their games for a fair price, depending on the circumstance.

By far the most common were Exploding Snap (good for fine-hair-senses and/or reflexes), Gobstones (good for precision in angles and throwing but rarely played in the Lair, with how messy it could be), and Wizard’s Chess, with pieces enchanted to act alive, making it a lot like directing troops in battle (the more interesting the older the set was, really). Probably because getting anyone into any sort of debt was really the one, real game in Slytherin, so far hardly anyone seemed interested in more stake-driven games of cards or dice, but even so Riko was both very pleased with and drew great use from her spellfather’s birthday gift.

It was entertaining and sort of restful to hang out, watching it all, often unnoticed, thanks to Obscurantis, but at times adding her own view or planting little discussions. The cueroscope under her shirt added just a bit more fun to it all and it definitely was educational to learn the tells of her housemates, be it by talking, observing conversations, or playing Slytherin’s Wizard’s Chess, a variant with a number of ‘unmasks’ to change any figure but the queen.

Just as interesting was watching who hung out with who. In their year there was Draco’s group of four, with him the clear leader, though Pansy was always reserving the right to her own stance. It wasn’t a nice thing to think but both Vincent and Gregory, though friendly enough, didn’t act very bright, so Riko rarely felt the need to sit or play with them.

The Sorrentinos and Em were usually quietly hanging out together, alternating between being studious and mischievous fun. Farrah, being her own kind regal company, spent most of her time with Canthia, who she’d more or less declared her own. They often sat with the twins or Em, and Blaise liked to be the free element, able to join any group, chatting easily in Italian with the twins, or just watch them all from the outside.

The older Slytherins were mostly dismissive of the first years. If they paid them any attention at all is was usually to put them in their place in some way, like to clear that table or be quiet already or clear out that evening – gonna be a proper party. Then there were the looks she got from some of them, like she’d crawled up from under a stone.

Riko had no patience for that shit, and even less for similar looks sometimes being directed at Cynthia or even the half-bloods, whenever they did anything some upper-year thought wasn’t proper and traditional enough. It was really necessity that made her scout the worst offenders and she couldn’t claim to be surprised when they were most-all from very old families.

They also had lots of connections to draw from and it was clearly better to be obscured than to get her hackles up and get into some feud or debt for bad manners or whatever. Never mind making herself known. Annoying as that was, she was pretty sure they’d get over themselves soon. The second-years hardly received any such attention and they had three half-bloods from what she’d overheard.

It was obviously a seniority-thing, at least in part, just like the unwritten rules of who was allowed to sit on what table and such. Of her yearmates, despite noticing a few potentially noxious edges here and there, the only one to occasionally really got on Riko’s nerves was Draco. The rest was alright with some caution, but with him it was always his father this and his father that, which got tiresome real fast.

Well, that wasn’t quite right, or fair. The others also had the potential to get on her nerves, but somehow Riko had an easier time dismissing it. And Draco didn’t really bring his father up all the time, just often, and he did it in a way that was.. louder and more annoying than the others.

But perhaps that was just her own apprehension about her spellfather speaking. She hadn’t told Draco, of course, but even so it made it easier to feel her heckles rise when talk turned in the direction and he did have a habit of sending and receiving letters from home..

Either way, the next few non-house-days were a welcome change in that she was glad to spend more time with her friends again. They’d had only the short period before dinner from Monday through Wednesday, and it was taken up with either homework or most often training for either dueling or wandless magic or various handsignings. Riko felt that all in all it was an alright routine to fall into but instead, on Monday, Edie fell ill.

Riko couldn’t remember having been just spontaneously ill, ever, so this qualified as a cause for serious concern. Now that she thought on it, Edie had looked a bit washed out yesterday evening, and miserable at breakfast. It became even more obvious when Riko saw her during History of Magic in second period. Edie had an enormous scarf wound tightly around almost her entire upper half, occasionally blinking owlishly over it’s rim but mostly lying on her desk, face down.

It was a wonder she could hear at all with all the layers of fabric around her head, and she didn’t feel like eating at lunch afterwards, instead huddling into herself and breathing mostly through her mouth, from the sound of it. Not that you could see anything but her bloodshot eyes behind that huge scarf. When they told her she should go see Madam Pomfrey she stubbornly refused on grounds of not wanting to miss any lessons. Utterly unreasonable, considering that today there was again assigned reading instead of Charms lesson, which she spent huddled over her book and wincing every once in a while, and Defence was certainly not worth whatever Edie was going through. Riko thought it was almost comically Ravenclaw, except her friend was obviously miserable.

When they met after fourth in their room, Herm-, no, Amy told them of Defence during third period and how Edie had at last been made to go see reason and thus Madam Pomfrey. She’d apparently zoned out during the lesson only to have a sudden coughing fit just as Quirrell had called on Harry Potter. She’d startled the professor so badly he’d completely forgotten what he’d been talking about. Well, he often forgot that, but still.

Beside this amusing effect, she had however been right distressed herself, Amy said she’d looked downright scared sick. When she’d noticed this, and Edie’s glassy look, she’d felt her forehead and found that her friend was running a bad fever. She’d immediately told Quirrell and dragged Edie to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey had first scolded her for not coming earlier, then thanked her, burying the Ravenclaw girl under a heap of blankets, and started gathering all sorts of potions. She had also sent Amy off with the verdict that the earliest time for Edie to be released would be sometime tomorrow. This was definitely worrying, even more so when they hurried to the hospital wing only to be told that Edie was resting and shouldn’t have visitors anyway. The matron softened a little at their dejected looks, telling them to come back in the morning, but then she shooed them out in her usual, brisk manner.

They didn’t get much done in what remained of their time before dinner, unable to really concentrate on homework or any of their training. As she sat staring mindlessly at a random book in her common room after dinner, Riko had at last something that resembled a useful idea. She dug her Charms-notes and book from her rucksack and started copying out in great detail, adding all sorts of references and taking care to write extra-readable and only in plain, good English. It was some work to reconstruct some of the things she’d only skimmed over, that hadn’t been interesting enough to write down, but she knew Edie liked to have everything related to the lesson written down together, believing strongly in having everything in one place for later revising.

Besides, it was something to do. When she’d finished she started doing the same for History of Magic, which was even more work, as she had to research the content to her fractured, skeletal notes first. At least afterwards she was tired enough to fall asleep without trouble.

In the morning, after a very quick and early breakfast, they all hurried to the hospital wing. With a mildly tolerant look Madam Pomfrey let them in but warned them to be very quiet because her patient was still recuperating. Riko though that was a rather nice way of saying Edie was still looking extremely miserable, at least as bad as in History of Magic yesterday.Amy’s relieved look, however, told her that whatever exactly had happened yesterday in Defence must have been much worse. Now that was a disturbing idea. Edie still had her scarf wrapped around her, and for some odd reason she also wore a thick woollen cap on her head.

With the dark smudges under her eyes she looked as if she hadn’t had any real sleep at all, and she was so pale, her freckles looked almost greyish. She did however wave weakly and greet them in a strained, hoarse whisper. Madam Pomfrey left them after giving Edie two potions to drink and telling them Ms Eohyrde would likely be ready to go to her own bed this evening.

They had all talked quietly but clearly four people inquiring how she felt and what exactly she had and if they could help was a bit too much. They fell silent and looked apologetic while Edie winced and held a hand to her head.

“Relax, I’ll be fine. My head is just killing me right now.” She smiled vaguely at them. “Sorry if I had you worried, I hope you were still able to to train with three people?”

She looked so miserable and sorry about being ill, that Riko couldn’t take it. “Oh, quiet you. You look like crap, stop worrying about such silly stuff! I have copied notes for you and since I’m free til lunch, you’re going to tell me what you want so I can get it from the kitchen.”

Edie winced again but she also seemed a bit amused and a little colour was starting to return to her face. Both Vi and Amy gave Riko a slap to the arm but grinned nonetheless and chimed in, assuring Edie that all she had to worry about was getting well. Amy told her she would bring her the complete notes for Transfiguration of yesterday and today, and Vi assured her she’d be fine in today’s Potions and bring her the notes as well.

They entertained her for a little while until the others had to go and Riko took Edie’s wishes for breakfast and raced happily through the empty corridors, on her first ever mission to the kitchens. She slowed down when she reached the dim corridor with the still-life portrait of fruits, not wanting to get caught by any stragglers or, even worse, Filch.

Feeling only slightly silly she started tickling the pear which after just a few moments started to wriggle, then it squealed.. and turned into a door handle. Riko pulled it open slowly, and slunk inside when no-one screamed in outrage or popped out of the woodwork to stop her.

As the door clicked shut behind her, Riko stared. The room, more a vault, really, was easily the size of the Great Hall, and filled with stoves and sinks, cupboards and work tables, and five big tables just like in the Great Hall. Pots and pans were hanging from hooks or stacked in shelves with bowls and pottery and strange-looking implements for stirring and mixing. Ropes of garlic and peppers and greens were hanging from hooks on the arches, sacks and baskets and crates of foodstuffs lurking in corners. There were also a few dozen small creatures of various greenish shades staring up at her, distracted from various tasks. They looked a lot like the library-elves, just a little softer around the edges and not quite as sharp and papery dry.

“Err..Hullo, I hope I’m not disturbing you?” Riko felt that cautious courtesy couldn’t hurt, considering she wanted to ask them a favour and there were rather many of them. It seemed to be at least not completely wrong as they didn’t complain or attack. Instead they were all looking curiously at her, without answering. Fantastic.

She cleared her throat and stepped forward a little, intent on finishing her mission. Her friends had managed it, too, after all, it was her own fault she’d never asked how exactly they did it.

“I’m Riko, pleased to meet you all,” she gave them a small bow and a cautious smile, “My friend, Edie, perhaps you know her, is ill and in the hospital wing, and couldn’t make it to breakfast, so I thought perhaps you could give me something to bring her.”

Even this vague expression of a wish unfroze them and Riko was immediately surrounded by a gaggle of the small creatures, one bringing a basket, some others fetching white linen napkins, plates and cups and butter knives. Then one with a ladle embroidered above the Hogwarts seal they all had on their.. pillow case clothes cleared her throat and all the others halted, looking a little nervous.

What seemed to be the leader of the kitchens gave Riko a serious look, then bowed. “I is Finny. What is your friend liking for breakfast?”

Riko smiled widely, relieved to have someone to address who seemed to keep her head and practical sense about her. “Some toast and ginger jam and honey, please, and tea. And some cheese and fruit, and perhaps a cooked egg, if you have one left from breakfast.”

She was exceeding Edie’s literal “just some toast and tea”, but she felt it was in her friend’s best interest, and these were all things Edie liked. Finny gave a quick nod and the gaggle in front of her dispersed, returning with a rather shocking amount of the mentioned items.

“Will your friend be wanting anything else?” Both Finny and her crowd of subordinates were looking at her, slightly unnerving in their eagerness to fill the basket to bursting. Riko was about to politely decline, but forced herself to really think if there was anything Edie might like to be had here. She was rather proud of herself when she indeed found something.

“Some humbugs, please, and some fresh lemon balm, if you have it.” She liked the humbugs, too, but that was a little beside the point, and the fresh smell and taste of the leaves would certainly make Edie feel better. In no time at all she had the full basket in her hands and bowed again, thanking them all very much.

Finny, and all the others, bowed back. “It is our pleasure, Riko friend of Edie. You is welcome to visit whenever you likes.”

Riko didn’t really know what else to do but bow and thank them again, hurriedly leaving through what from this side was an ancient looking, heavy darkwood door. After the portrait closed behind her, Riko had time for one deep breath before she realized she wasn’t alone in the hallway.

“Miss Slyver.”

It was Professor Snape. Who should have been starting the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw double lesson that Edie was currently missing, not standing there, looking at her with an utterly unreadable face. When he didn’t say anything for a few moments, she gathered her wits.

“Professor,” she nodded respectfully, “I was just taking some breakfast to a friend in the hospital wing in my free period.”

It was easy to act as if that was all that need be said, because for her it was. Riko wasn’t sure if it was actually forbidden to go into the kitchens, but she sure didn’t feel guilty about anything, right now. Curious, about what her head of house was doing here, tense and guarded about his reaction, but that was it.

Still, without him giving any sort of comment she couldn’t very well be on her way. He regarded her for another long moment then commented neutrally, “The kitchens aren’t, strictly speaking, an allowed area for students.”

Then he just stepped past her and tickled the pear himself. Swallowing, she concentrated on being extra quiet and unobtrusive as she quickly left the scene. She considered asking Vi later about the lesson, but then she’d have to tell she’d been caught, so perhaps she’d better not.

Madam Pomfrey was busy in her office and Riko had an easy time sneaking to Edie’s bedside. It was separated from the rest of the room by screens, which was all the better, allowing Edie to take her breakfast in peace.

The time passed quickly as Riko did her best to entertain her friend, get her to eat, and explain her copied notes. She also tried to wheedle out what had happened yesterday in Defence and also more generally what was wrong with Edie in the first place. That went absolutely nowhere, Edie all but shutting down entirely, until Riko explained she couldn’t even remember having been ill.

Her friend laughed weakly, then tolerantly rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m ill quite often, so I’m used to it. You really needn’t worry, it’s just.. something with my immune system.” She smiled tightly and quickly continued, “and yesterday I just had a sort of weird.. reaction, like, just a complete sensory overload. I mean you know how it usually reeks in there, and suddenly it was just too much. I couldn’t even make out the garlic any more, it was just all bitter and ice and clogging up my nose with awful and I could actually taste it, which..”

Edie quickly shook herself and gave her a strained smile, obviously embarrassed. “Anyway, I was obviously delirious, and I promise if I ever feel like that again, I’ll go to the hospital wing right away rather than trudge to Defence. Quirrell’s lesson it mostly pointless if you don’t feel good enough to use it right anyway.”

Riko was still worried about her friend, but the acknowledgement about going to the hospital wing was reassuring. That was, if one ignored that Edie seemed to be used to falling ill. Riko was quite sure that usually having magic boosted a person’s immune system, so that was definitely odd, even if her cueroscope hadn’t actually out-right wriggled on its string.

She decided to research it in the library instead of pestering Edie about it now. Her friend had sunk back against her pillow, starting to look winded and tired, but was clearly too stubborn and nice to send Riko away. With an exasperated look of concern Riko stood up and started tucking the blankets around her friend, put the lemon balm and remaining humbugs on the bedside table, beside the thermos, and gathered everything else back into the basket.

“Right, you obviously need some rest. Will you be able to sleep now?” Her brusque manner seemed to amuse Edie but her she only nodded meekly.

“Good. We’ll come by for lunch, but I rather hope you’ll still be asleep then, you look like you could use it.”

This at last provoked a small eye-roll. “I’m not dying here, you know, I’ll be perfectly fine in no time at all...”

“Right,” Riko rolled her own eyes right back with a small smile, “I’m sure you’ll be, and all the sooner if you get some rest. Now relax and get well.”

Edie huffed a small sigh but also gave her a shy smile. Riko waved the murmured, sheepish thanks away with a wink and a grin. Whispering a playful “Any time, luv!” she started sneaking away with exaggerated movements of hiding the basket under her mysteriously draped robe until she was behind the screens.

Then she hurried to return the basket, sneaking rather more seriously and taking care to not be noticed by anyone. After again bowing many thanks to what Edie had said were house elves she made a short hand gesture to feel if the coast was clear in the hallway. She collected her rucksack and things for today’s lesson from her room and spent the remainder of her free period in the library, and the rest of the day was rather uneventful, all in all.

Reading her Charms text in a nice, out-of-the-way corner in the library was of course still very interesting, but when they all visited Edie during lunch break, she was indeed still asleep, and Madam Pomfrey didn’t allow them to see her. After fourth period Riko raced to the hospital wing to find that Edie was now allowed visitors and Amy already there while Vi’s flying lesson lasted until shortly before dinner.

She interrupted their quiet conversation about Amy’s Transfiguration notes to suggest an early dinner, proudly waving the basket she had managed to sneak up from the kitchen on her way back inside from Herbology. Edie did look markedly better, the lemon balm was greatly reduced, and the humbugs all gone from her bedside table. The sandwiches and tea vanished quickly but though she was obviously better, Edie was still looking rather washed out.

Consequently Riko didn’t mind at all when Madam Pomfrey walked by and, after casting some medical diagnostic charms on their friend, sternly told the girl to get some more rest. Blandly not looking at the basket, the mediwitch said she would release Edie only under the condition that she go straight to her own bed, and stay there until tomorrow morning. Amy and Riko accompanied their friend for most of the way, just to make sure she didn’t get into trouble or collapse.

Afterwards it was almost time for official dinner and they wandered out to the pitch to wait for Vi’s lesson to end, chatting easily. Amy was only too happy to talk about her lessons or her (rather considerable, Riko thought) progress in dueling and wand-less magic. She became however very reluctant when Riko tried to breach the subject of her housemates. It seemed they were still ignoring her, only Neville occasionally sitting with her in the common room.

When Vi joined them and they headed for the Great Hall talk turned to Edie’s health and then to other subjects, but Riko made a mental note to try and keep on eye on Amy’s Gryffindor problem. Then, during Astronomy at midnight, her thoughts wandered to Edie again, who wasn’t there to make the lesson more interesting.

But when the Ravenclaw girl was back the next day, cheerful and insanely attentive to Binns’ soporific droning during History of Magic, though still rather washed out and tired-looking, Riko was distracted by their current projects and homework, and the mystery of Charms again assigned reading a week later (Edie and Amy explained that one), and there was still her own research regarding her housemates.

For the latter Vi had turned out to be a true saviour, once Riko actually mentioned it in passing during Defence. That had been rather unexpected, although Riko really should’ve known that Vi would have some good info there. Know the lay of the land and extended, all-wizarding family and all that.

Riko made a point of ordering Nature’s Nobility so it arrived on a not-house-day instead of checking it out of the library, just as she didn’t let anyone see her read it. No point in announcing her lack of intel, really, it was difficult enough to trace who had begot and-or accomplished what with whom and deduce various potential alliances and interests from there.

She actually had to use her notebook for that project, and thus collect and tamper with ideas from Edie, Vi, and various books from the library for charms or other workings to link and extend pages, and making them safely unreadable just in case it fell in unauthorized hands. At least this would let her use her criss-crossing writing-ways as she liked.

Likewise, their search for the statue of Gregory the Smarmy took up more time and effort than expected. It’s location was not listed in Hogwarts a History, which was a serious disappointment. They debated but decided against asking Sir Nick, the only ghost who ever took any note of them when they met. He was friendly but also curious, bound to ask why they wanted to know or possibly even tag along.

They’d also tried to look up the name in the library but, as they didn’t think it a smart move to ask Madam Pince for this ver extra-curricular project, the books they found were mostly just about Potions, and while his Unctuous Unction certainly sounded interesting and entertaining in equal measure (imagine giving someone a potion that made them think you were their best friend, there was lots of fun to be had with that, surely), none of them mentioned a statue.

In the end it was Edie who found it, simply by asking one of the paintings for directions. It was a move Riko had thought about often but always talked herself out of, worrying about questions from the odd, semi-living inhabitants of the castle’s canvases and their well-known penchant for gossip. But Edie had an air of studiousness about her that led even painted people of differing periods to the immediate assumption she really just wanted to know so that was alright, really, and sort of fun as well. As long as you managed to actively forget about the creepy spying powers of those painted people, but, well, not as bad when you knew it, right?

In any case, it turned out Filch knew all about the passage behind the portly wizard who was enthusiastically holding up a goblet of what was certainly meant to be his famous potion. It was a right shock, to be looking closely at and around a statue, searching for a trigger, only to have it slide forward, almost right into Amy, and the grumbling caretaker emerge from behind it, carrying a big burlap sack and the scent of rain.

It made them worry he also knew about the passageway that somehow connected the corridor of the Charms classroom with the one at the other end of the floor, near their room, despite the fact it would have to cross through two courtyards to do that. But they never met him while using it, so perhaps he didn’t, or perhaps there was a different tunnel for every person using it, who knew.

Besides, they had enough on their plates without worrying over things that weren’t actively trying to get them into trouble, so they quickly grew used to their new, busy routine of madness. Riko had tried to argue there was hardly any madness involved in the occasional pranking, both general, just funny weirdness, and more directed. Only at a certain group of older students, that, of course, and perfectly alright since they had to keep a general lookout for this certain group of older students anyway.

She was overruled, as regards the declaration of madness, but at least they didn’t seem to mind said madness itself. And they did agree to her naming of the Duck Squad after the first real skirmish. Their opponents had surprised them in the fifth floor corridor near Gregory’s statue, and, with no other students around to keep it mostly contained to verbal wafare (at which Vi was really, scarily brilliant), they barely managed to extract themselves.

After a hasty retreat, protected only by a number of badly aimed Protegos and ducking down a flight of stairs they were all shocked but also in high spirits, flushed from the rush of a successful getaway. Duck and Cover was the motto of the day, which had Edie roll her eyes, and Vi tilt her head, and thus Amy explain, in _detail_.

Unfortunately the next scuffle, only two days later, went not quite as well, but Madam Pomfrey fixed them all up pretty quickly. Riko was just glad they hadn’t managed to lose any points with their shenanigans so far. She was in no position to get away with that in her house yet, although she was making progress (the house duelling meets were and would be good for that, at least). As for her friends, they very sensibly took it as a challenge. They were all the more determined to train, and be more careful, and didn’t protest when Riko took to pulling her Obscurantis over them whenever they travelled without the cover of a crowded corridor. It didn’t stop the occasional teasing about her paranoia, but now it was mostly about her infecting them, and of course Vi occasionally eyeing her with a little too much quiet understanding.

But, well, with that family, and considering how tense she’d been hiding in Flourish and Blotts, small wonder. And Vi never made anything of it. It was that, most of all, which made Riko alright with it, even with the fact that, while Edie was just as watchful and aware, it was clearly Vi who had the context for whatever little hints Riko might sometimes let slip.

She had the uncomfortable feeling there were more than she was even aware of as it were; a slip of crook-lingo here; the short time it took her to get almost as fluent as Vi in her friend’s ogham-based finger signs there; her adding ideas to give often-used concepts their own, quicker signs; a bit too sharp a reaction or non-reaction to this or that invasion of her space; this or that suggestion for a prank just a bit too practical, too edged; this or that way to get around a door or rule or other obstacle just a bit too practised..

There was after all reason Riko was so careful and controlled about her interactions with her housemates. But this was different, she still spent more time with her friends, and she did want them to know her. And shutting up and being background obviously wouldn’t work or do. For one, it wasn’t really her, and besides, with their various and depressing inhibitions they’d probably never get up to any real fun, ever, on their own..


	12. Hallowe’en and Quidditch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hallowe’en is a busy night for all, hell yeah! =) But what is happening in the back of the stage while the game is on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, a bit after the appropriate time, sorry =3

Somehow it was quite a surprise when it was suddenly Samhain, here officially celebrated as Hallowe’en. Was it really two months since she’d met her friends? It seemed at once as if she’d known them much longer and as if it had been just a few days here in Hogwarts.

The delicious smell of pumpkin pies, while pleasant to wake up to and tolerable during breakfast, became quite a distraction during the first two periods, Defence and Transfigs. At least during Defence Riko could talk to Vi, and they went over their Transfiguration homework again, only occasionally noting down today’s subject from Professor Quirrell’s haphazard stuttering.

The teacher made Riko uneasy although he never really acknowledged her. Actually, he never really seemed to be quite there, generally. Combined with traces of the odd miasma she could still sometimes sense if she came too close to him it made her wonder where he thought he was, or where the other part of him was.

Probably he was just addicted to some magical substance, he did often act rather like he was stoned, and either way, she liked to keep her distance. And she was not going to ask Vi’s opinion because cost/benefit was bound to be terrible there, with all implications, in both directions, just, no good at all. Specially after yesterday’s slip with her zippo.

Besides, Transfigs now, which had somehow become a subject she both despised and was fascinated by. McGonagall was infuriatingly unfair and somehow always aware when Riko was having trouble, never losing a chance to point out Riko’s mistakes or lack of understanding. Also, the way she explained was a near unbreakable code. Even when Riko knew exactly the right answer to a question, it seemed impossible to make the professor understand what she was saying.

By now, Riko had resigned herself to this, simply taking care to answer as polite and best as she could. McGonagall seemed to have let some of her disapproval of Riko bleed over to Vi, but at least she wasn’t taking points from Hufflepuff. And usually they did get their practicals right when working together, which was more than could be said of the few instances when the deputy headmistress had forcibly paired them with someone else.

At lunch break they were quiet. Nobody had much of an appetite, be it from the constant smell of pumpkin pies or the knowledge that dinner would be a gigantic feast. Riko was silently trying to get rid of the confusion Transfiguration lessons always left her with, and from the looks of it Vi was doing the same.

Amy looked distracted and kept on thoughtfully staring at her baked potatoes as she nudged them around her plate. It was probably better to wait a bit before asking her if something was up. If it was important, like trouble with the Duck Squad, she would’ve said something already. Edie looked a little washed out when she arrived from Herbology and Riko was immediately worried.

“Oi, Edie, you feeling alright?”

Riko felt it was well within her right, even her duty, to be worried about their tired-looking Ravenclaw. Just about a week ago she’d been ill again, started looking pale and clammy on Tuesday and after Astronomy at midnight advanced to full ready-to-keel-over. Riko had insisted on dragging her friend to the hospital wing and waking Madam Pomfrey.

She’d of course obscured herself for the way down to the lair but that didn’t help when Flinton, or rather Bismark, was waiting in the ante-chamber. Watching the door, gods and spirits! He’d only asked if she’d got caught and she’d only shook her head and at his tolerant nod slunk off with a mumbled “Good night, prefect Bismark.” He’d been watching her off and on since then. Gah.

And then Madam Pomfrey hadn’t let them see Edie at all during Wednesday, and she’d missed all of Thursday’s lessons as well. At least they’d been allowed to visit her then, and on Friday she’d been back at breakfast, almost completely recovered. She’d seemed mostly fine since then, but still...

“Yeah, no worries, just a little headache, I’ll be just fine with some food.” Edie flopped down beside Amy and grinned reassuringly at Riko. “We had a pretty nasty plant today and the air in the greenhouse was really bad, and I had to really concentrate to keep Brocklehurst, my partner, from being bit.”

Riko smiled back, her concern fading as Edie single-mindedly ladled a small hill of baked potatoes on her plate and proceeded to demolish them. “Oh, yeah, that Stinging Whiskers, right? But they’re not that difficult to look out for, are they?”

Edie made a small grimace and looked over her shoulder before talking quietly. “Well, no, but Brocklehurst’s kinda absent-minded, you know. Really nice and smart, but not very good at keeping her mind on just one thing in front of her.”

“Ah.” Riko grinned with understanding and went back to her own plate, letting a relaxed silence descend on their end of the table. Vi was already convinced and she had all of Astronomy to talk Edie into her spontaneous plan of exploration for tonight, and then the entire double lesson of Flying and afterwards to rope in Amy.

When they had settled in the Astronomy classroom after seeing Vi safely to her Charms lesson (only a minor duck-clash of the purely-verbal kind) Riko was relieved to note Edie was indeed alright. In short order they were simultaneously taking a lot of not very interesting notes and whispering a far more interesting conversation. Though she was at first reluctant, Riko appreciated Edie’s innate mischief and curiosity as she soon agreed to her plan of nightly exploration. Hallowe’en was just the night for it, really.

Riko’s good mood was challenged when she arrived at the Pitch to find Amy missing but the other Gryffindor first years already milling about. At first she waited a little, perhaps Amy had had some questions for Professor Sprout after the lesson. But when she saw Madam Hooch making her way towards the pitch, it became clear that couldn’t be it. Amy would never dawdle that much.

Seeing Neville Longbottom stand a little to the side, Riko moved quietly over to ask him. Draco was engaging in his favourite pastime of provoking the duo Potter and Weasley, and the exchange of insults seemed to hold most everyone’s attention. Riko was quite glad of this because this was a very obvious case of caution being the better part of valour. She rather doubted that Riko putting questions to her Gryffindor housemates about her would endear Amy to them.

Stepping up casually to stand at what still could be called a polite distance, she nodded his way and gave a quiet “Oi.” before turning so that to any observer she was looking in the direction of what was already devolving into a shouting match. She was relieved when after a moment of obvious confusion he nodded back, though he looked rather ill-at-ease.

“I’m getting kinda worried about ..Granger.” It was odd, not to call her Amy. It was also odd that the boy seemed to become even more nervous. Riko’d thought making a neutral statement without any kind of direct question or accusation quite polite. It took a few moments before he wet his lips and hurried to answer before Madam Hooch reached them.

“She had an.. an accident with the Stinging Whiskers, and then she had to go to the hospital wing because she had an allergic reaction.” He hastily added, “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine for the feast, really!”

Riko frowned absently at the spectacle she was supposed to be watching and wondered at the entire situation. However, Madam Hooch was almost here, so she gave another nod and a short thanks to the boy and retreated to the group of her housemates.

The Flying lesson started with a very grumpy Madam Hooch telling everyone off for their behaviour and didn’t improve from there. Everyone, including their instructor, was short-tempered and there were continuously small scuffles or whispered arguments. Halfway through it started to rain. Riko kept mostly to herself, distractedly dissecting the situation.

There was obviously something fishy about this supposed accident and she wasn’t quite sure if she should ask Amy later or if it might be better to keep an eye on Neville and corner him somewhere for a few discreet questions. Also, it seemed house Gryffindor still didn’t appreciate having Amy as their member and it was pissing Riko off. She decided to do something about it but failed to come up with any sort of plan. It was right frustrating.

When the lesson was finished, Riko hurried straight up to the hospital wing, only to learn that Madam Pomfrey had sent Amy off just minutes ago so she could get ready for the feast. Scowling, Riko rushed down to the lair to do likewise. By now the hats were optional but a set of nicer-than-normal robes would be expected anyway. Edie and Vi had intended to pass their free period in the library and would soon come down so there was no point in trying to head them off, she’d just miss them by taking the wrong route.

Leaning against the wall in a small alcove close to the entrance of the Great Hall, Riko took the chance to obscure herself. She didn’t fancy presenting an easy target to the Duck Squad by loitering alone. They’d had a few more alterations and so far, though they were making progress, it always consisted of various forms of strategic retreats. She decided to check inside the Great Hall first and thanked the gods the Hufflepuff table was closest to the door.

The decorations were impressive but they made looking for any one person rather more difficult than usual. What looked like a thousand live bats were fluttering from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter.

Riko was curious if it might be a more powerful, complex variant of the levitation charm they had learned this Tuesday, Wingardium Leviosa, which was a perfect example of a simplified spell for purpose of easy wand magic. Maybe she could ask Flitwick, or get Edie to ask. She caught herself and quickly made sure Vi and Edie hadn’t arrived yet.

They’d planned to spend the feast at the Hufflepuff table so surely Amy wouldn’t be arriving early. The Hufflepuffs were a welcoming bunch and sitting down at their table without Vi seemed a rude way to thank them. Perhaps Amy would catch the others while they were still in the library and come down with them, thought Riko as she watched the people streaming into the hall, going over her potential plans again.

As fit Samhain, well, the liminal part of it, there was to be a sort-of-ceremonial figure-gliding by the ghosts during the feast, and Riko had overheard talk of some meet-ups in the spirit of the day. The Hufflepuffs were of course having a great do, complete with a big fire for tradition’s sake, if obviously not a bonfire one, and apparently some folks preferred small ceremonies of their own. Lots of scattering in any case, even if those would likely end up at the Hufflepuff Party sooner or later, or start a smaller and more drunk one in the Lair.

Either way, the perfect opportunity for not getting caught. But when she at last caught sight of Vi and Edie walking down the great staircase in a group of older Hufflepuffs, Amy’s head of spirited dark curls was nowhere in sight. Scowling again she let them pass without catching their eye, looking for any Gryffindor first-years. They had a longer way to make themselves ready after the Flying lesson than the Slytherins, so they’d likely still be on their way.

Ah, yes, there were the Gryffindor first-year girls, trotting down the great stair in a gaggle and arguing loudly. Riko started forward in full ninja mode as soon as she caught sight of them, stalking them closely to overhear better.

“She really is crazy, I’m telling you. Gutsy but crazy.” A girl with straight, dark brown hair was insisting. Riko remembered her being called Ms Engerling during Potions.

“Well, at least she isn’t purple any more, that’s just so not a good colour for her.” Ah, yes, Ms Brown, always having her priorities straight, commented part of her in her head, sounding a little like Professor Snape.

“Oh, relax. I’m curious what she’ll find. Those ghosts really looked like Kneazles, not cats. If she manages to catch up to them...” said a girl Riko wasn’t able to come up with a name for.

“Alanna, if they let her catch up it will probably just mean she’ll miss the feast. She’ll forget all about it, trying to figure them out.” The Gryffindor Patil twin seemed slightly worried as she said it, and Riko was now sure they were talking about Amy.

“Ha, she’ll end up spending the feast in the toilet, or maybe in the trophy room if she’s lucky,” snorted Brown and Riko had to stop herself from tripping the girl as she giggled and the four entered the Hall.

Riko trailed behind them, careful to avoid the last stragglers hurrying in to not miss the start of the feast. Apparently Amy had stumbled over something interesting (Rare ghosts! Well, it _was_ Samhain..) and Riko was itching to collect the others and join the hunt. With luck it might even turn out more interesting than her original plan for this night..

Anticipation made her grin as she sneaked to where Edie and Vi were sitting at their usual spot, closest to the door. A little worried about triggering any automatic fight-reflexes in Vi, Riko stepped instead behind Edie, lightly putting her hand on her shoulder after whispering “behind you” in her friend’s ear.

Riko was incredibly pleased when the Ravenclaw’s only reaction was to stiffen for a moment. She was even more pleased when Vi immediately caught the movement and eyed her friend questioningly. When Edie just smiled and made a discreet gesture, pointing her thumb behind herself while gathering a few loose hairs behind her ear, Riko almost felt like exploding from glee. These were her friends and they were fantastic!

She could tell the exact moment Vi saw through her Obscurantis, because the raised eyebrow and dry smirk said only too clearly “You really are having too much fun with this” to the grin that was amiably threatening to split Riko’s face.

And now her, well, their own set of shorthands paid off. Who’d want to spell out west-most corridor, after all, when you could just use a properly curled, directed swish, and unlike the ogham-based it wasn’t, hm, common cultural knowledge. Riko hadn’t learned it so fast just thanks to her practice with seals and, err, slights of hand, no, she’d seen it in use in corridors, in the library, even in the Great Hall, and of course in the Lair.

So now, after some mixed-but-certainly-faster-for-it signing, the two scooted away from their neighbours, towards the end of the table, into the places they had saved. Lightly placing her fingers on their arms Riko waited and combined with the sudden appearance of the feast no one seemed to notice as she stretched her Obscurantis over them.

Immediately both placed a hand so that they could stay in contact with her, already knowing from experience they’d need the physical link in hurried situations, and rose nimbly, moving silently behind her to the door. They were almost there when they saw Professor Quirrell racing through the Entrance Hall, right at them.

They only barely managed to evade him by flattening themselves against the wall and Riko couldn’t suppress a small shudder as he passed them, the miasma around him was so much stronger than when they’d first met. Riko didn’t move, only watched as he sprinted to the high table, his turban askew and his movements sloppily terrified.

People had only just started noticing him as he came to a halt at Professor Dumbledore’s chair and took a deep breath. This changed dramatically in the next few moments.

“TROLL!” he cried, “IN THE DUNGEONS!”

There was a moment of silence, and Quirrell seemed to collect himself. “Thought you ought to know,” he said, and then did a classic swoon.

Riko’s first thought was that he had perhaps taken some sort of overdose. But regardless of that, the Great Hall was filled with uproar, many students and teachers rising, all clamouring in shock, asking questions and whatnot. They definitely had to get out of the way. As Riko dragged them quickly to the one place that wouldn’t be swarming with people in a matter of seconds, Professor Dumbledore threw purple firecrackers from the end of his wand, silencing everyone.

Freshly arrived in the corner behind the high table, they heard Dumbledore’s verdict. “Prefects,” he rumbled, “lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!”

Riko took a second to not gape at the man (two of the four houses had their dormitories _in_ the dungeons, _seriously_!) and also congratulate herself as feet began to shuffle and prefects called out to one another, trying to herd the dozens of either frightened or thrilled students of their houses back to their dormitories.

“I’m certain it was Peeves,” said McGonagall somewhere beside Hagrid and thus hidden from view, while they watched the Great Hall quickly empty of students. “Either he’s frightened poor Quirrell to death or he’s let one of the troublesome creatures into the castle and we shall no doubt have a time getting rid of it,” the deputy headmistress continued as she rose and led the teachers towards the hallway that would take them down to the lower dungeons.

As if the words were a cue they saw Professor Snape pause and think on them, and then turn back to look sharply in the direction of the high table. The rest of the teachers had already left and Riko was quite honestly frightened by the intensity and the direction of the gaze. But her head of house had not suddenly developed the ability to look through Obscurantis. And as she drew her friends sideways towards the exit, they saw it too.

Quirrell wasn’t lying below the table where he’d fainted. He was gone. And he hadn’t been with the teachers that had just left. Professor Snape seemed to follow the same train of thought, and he also seemed to have more railway to let it run on, because he turned with a curse and rushed out into the Entrance Hall.

Neither Edie nor Vi hesitated even for a fraction of a second when Riko raced to follow him. He had a growing lead but they were able to trail him into the corridor with the winding stair that led to the third floor. He raced past it, then skidded to a stop in front of an apparently nondescript panel in the wall. He gave it two smart knocks while they used the chance to catch up, though they now had to slow down to not be heard.

Even from the distance they saw the head of a ghost, a very small ghost, emerge from the wall, and after a short conversation the professor pushed the panel open and climbed into a box so small he had to crouch down to fit. They could now see that the ghost was actually a house elf or, well, a house elf ghost.

It was clearly a lift, Professor Snape demanded to be taken to the third floor. Riko let her Obscurantis fall away as soon as he’d closed the panel, cursing silently until they reached it, only seconds later yet still too late. Then she listened at the panel. There was a sort of very quiet screech and something clicked. Eyeing the entire thing sceptically, Riko rapped twice smartly on the panel.

Even after having watched it just now Riko was surprised to immediately see the ghostly head appear. He looked a bit puzzled himself. Taking her cue from her head of house she nodded politely to the crinkly looking house elf ghost as he tugged on his old fashioned porters hat.

“Good evening, Mr Howson. It is very good to see you staunchly at your post.”

She wasn’t sure if that was a sort of pass phrase, so she repeated the professors word verbatim as she bumped the panel to push it open. It was _not_ roomy, at all, but they managed to press themselves inside in a matter of seconds. Riko’s “Third floor, please” sounded only slightly squashed, and the porter’s ghost didn’t seem to mind their terrible manners.

She’d have to check him out more thoroughly later, talk properly and all. Right now, though, she had only the warning of a small click before her stomach dropped out as the lift shot upwards like a proverbial bat out of hell. After barely a second it screeched to a halt and Riko hit her head on the ceiling.

They piled out of the box with short, disoriented words of thanks on their lips and Riko was already obscuring them as the panel closed behind them. When she was done Vi had just finished a quiet Silencing Charm at their feet and Edie started to pulled them along. While already following her lead, Riko caught her orientation after a few moments.

The sudden sense of urgency driving her on was only strengthened by how indescribably proud of her friends she felt as they raced on, skidding around a few corners only to see the ominous forbidden door behind which the three-headed dog lurked snap closed. They had just started down the corridor when they heard thundering steps rounding the corner behind them.

It was Quirrell, and again they were only feet from their goal when they had to flatten themselves against the wall to evade his hurtling form. Only this time he wasn’t looking scared. He looked quite crazy, a strange mix of glee and rage twisting his face into a creepy grimace. He opened the door, and it was all Riko could do to keep herself from laughing.

Quirrell’s face became once more deathly pale, his features completely derailed, as her head of house greeted him with a wand at the ready and a surreally pleasant “Good evening.”

Professor Snape wore a cutting smile as he continued calmly. “I see you have recovered from your fainting spell, Professor.”

Quirrell’s face made a panicked twitch and Riko was strongly reminded of the day she had first met him. “P-p-p-p- -”

“Yes, indeed,” Professor Snape answered agreeably.

“J-j-j-j-just --”

“Coming to make sure the troll hadn’t magically ascended from the dungeon to the third floor? Peculiar that you’d choose to come here, halfway across the castle,” Professor Snape gave him a sneer that would have made Riko flee to the ends of the earth if she was in Quirrell’s shoes, and continued in that deadly, damningly cheerful and poison-soft voice she knew from only the very worst of Potter Potions failures. “After all, even if a troll had _somehow_ heard of it, they wouldn’t..”

Then there was a snarl from behind the potions master and his face contorted in pain. Quirrell fled as Professor Snape shouted in surprise and turned to smack the monstrous dog across one of its snouts with his wand, keeping two heads at bay while the third tried to shake his leg, where it had its teeth sunk firmly in his right calf.

“Quirrell, come back here.. bloody hellhound, fuckin Ath’na up the arse with’er brossen bow, see’f I ever scrat y’r lugs _again_!” he swore, as he flailed at the three-headed dog.

Riko was glad the chaos covered the three gasps that escaped them and only realized she wasn’t quite sure what to cast when she saw her own wand pointing at the situation. Looking at her friends, she saw the same question in their faces. Deciding, she pressed her wand to her lips to indicate they should try to stay quiet enough not be noticed, then she let lose a silently mouthed Calcar at the head that was biting her (still very creatively and interestingly accentedly cursing) head of house. The Stinging Hex flew true, though it had less of an effect than she’d hoped. She saw Vi and Edie follow her example, though aiming at the other heads.

Combined with the angry fight Professor Snape put up, it was only a few moments until he managed to aim his wand directly at the head attached to his leg and let lose what looked like a nasty electric shock. It sent the dog off with a whine and the professor took the chance to clear the door and slam it closed, tossing a silent locking charm at it.

As he leaned against the wall for a moment, Riko saw exhaustion and bitter irritation mix on his face before he moved and tried to study the back of his leg. Even on his black trousers she could see blood trickling down his leg. From the grim, contained anger that formed, then disappeared, on his face it was easy to deduce that getting caught here, now, would be the very worst of timing.

Luckily he didn’t seem to have noticed the few weak charms they had cast, and he stayed on his side of the corridor as he limped in the general direction of the hospital wing, leaning lightly against the wall with his outstretched hand. They were trailing after him carefully when they heard a shrill, echoing scream from the direction of the Charms corridor.

There was no argument as they immediately adjusted their way, though the professor remained ahead of them. He obviously knew the secret passageway, too, and it was as if the sound had made him forget he had an injured leg. As they rounded a corner there was another shrill scream and Riko had the very bad feeling she recognized the voice. A horrible stench lingered in the corridor.

They followed the sound of more voices yelling and a roaring that sounded like a drunk Oni around another corner, and saw the door to the girl’s toilet standing open. And there was Professor McGonagall entering the bathroom, Quirrell only a few seconds behind her, Professor Snape on the heels of them both. The roaring had stopped.

As they hurried closer they heard McGonagall ask with cold fury in her voice “What on earth were you thinking?”

Scary as it was, it meant there was someone she could talk to. Rounding the doorway at last, they heard her continue while catching sight of what had to be the troll. The angry “You’re lucky you weren’t killed. Why aren’t you in your dormitory?” almost paled in comparison with the view, even though the troll was lying on it’s back, either unconscious or dead.

Amy, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley were standing dejectedly in front of their head of house, seemingly too scared to think of an answer. The toilet was a battleground. One sink was smashed to bits, another lay near the massive foot of the troll. The other foot, flat and mossy, was frozen to the floor, giving it a weird look as it lay there with it’s long arms flung out grotesquely. They were much bigger than it’s legs, which were thick as tree trunks.

In all, the troll was at least twelve feet tall, skin a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body looking much like a boulder, with its small bald head resembling nothing so much as a big, leaking coconut, not like an Oni at all. There was an enormous club lying beside it’s body, and it’s cracked head kept leaking profusely. Probably not properly dead, then?

There were a few tense moments when no one made a sound. Professor Snape had first studied the troll, now he was eyeing the situation with sharp interest. Then Amy took a deep breath and raised her chin, though when she spoke her voice was very small.

“Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me.”

“Miss Granger!” McGonagall sounded scandalized.

“I’m so sorry,” Amy said, shrinking in on herself, “I was late for the feast because I thought I’d seen some ghosts and run after them because I hadn’t seen them around before and they didn’t look like any of the ghosts I’d read about in _Hogwarts, a History_ and then I was, I was just about to go down, but there was suddenly a troll in here..”

Amy was trembling, but she took another breath and continued, though clearly her heart was in her throat. Potter and Weasley were looking at her as if they couldn’t believe anyone could be that crazy.

“I.. I froze.. I mean, I froze it’s foot to the ground and wanted to run out, but it was flailing too much, it smashed the sink right next to me. If they hadn’t shown up I’d be dead now. They distracted it, and I sent the sink flying at it, but it didn’t fall down, and then Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn’t have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived.

“Well.. in that case..” said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them. Riko wanted nothing so much as take a picture of this rare moment of the unflappable Transfiguration professor being at a loss for words.

Then McGonagall cleared her throat. “Very well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor ten points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. If you’re not hurt at all, you’d better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses. You may go.”

At this, Professor Snape cleared his throat, immediately catching the attention of everyone in the room and sending the level of tension through the roof again. His face was blank and his voice the same silk-over-steel he used when asking a trick question in class as he eyed Amy sharply. “What sorts of ghosts were you following, Miss Granger?”

Riko could see Potter and Weasley shudder at the tone, looking even more like terrified rabbits than before. Amy swallowed nervously but answered just as well as she would during Potions lesson. Riko wanted nothing so much as hug her, so proud was she of her friend’s composure.

“There were two of them, and they were quite small and very quick. From what I could make out they looked like a sort of cross between a cat and a fox. Big ears and thick tail.”

The silence stretched, Amy’s attention fixed on the professor’s face in much the same manner as during class when he would ask a question that required both knowledge and understanding to come to the right of several possible conclusions. And just as then, Professor Snape’s face gave no hint of what he thought.

He raised his eyebrow, eyeing first Amy and then McGonagall, the latter raising an eyebrow right back, as if asking if he wanted to make an issue of it. Apparently he didn’t want to. “Very well,” he nodded absently at Amy, ignoring the two Gryffindor boys as he gestured her to the door.

Riko was so focused on the entire scene that Edie and Vi had to pull her away from the door, or the three dazed Gryffindors would have walked straight into them. As the manebrained trio disappeared round a corner, the three professors gathered in the corridor. For a few moments there was a tense silence, then Professor Snape’s dry comment could be heard.

“Well, that troll isn’t going to get up in a hurry. The head is fractured, not to mention whatever happened before that, to let it leak at all. I’ll have to analyse the sample but it’s clearly post-reaction. We’ll have several hours at the very least to examine it, too bad the chance of getting any answers from them is gone for good.”

McGonagall nodded resolutely and locked the door to the toilet with a charm.

“Very well, let us join the headmaster in the staff room,” she said, and then led the way, setting a brisk path that had to play merry hell on Professor Snape’s leg. But the potion master didn’t even seem to bleed any more, much less limp. Riko was immensely curious and, judging from the occasional wary glances, so was Quirrell.

Neither Edie nor Vi left any doubt they wanted to know what happened next just as much as Riko, so the trio trailed the three professors back into the Entrance Hall, where their good fortune left them. Well, not completely, thank all the deities ever conceived, because Riko was sure that this would have been the one situation where McGonagall and Professor Snape would have agreed on something, and quite probably devised the worst punishment ever in the history of punishments. But even so, it was a frustrating setback.

They were only a few cautious steps behind the professors, on the last steps of the big staircase, when Headmaster Dumbledore entered the Entrance Hall. By a door that Riko had so far never noticed, even though it was directly opposite the entrance to the Great Hall. Riko’s immediate spike of curiosity was however quickly dashed by what followed.

“Ah, there you are,” smiled the Headmaster at the three teachers,”I was just about to go look for you. I have already gathered everyone in the staff room, after insuring that we would have sufficient provisions, of course.”

And then his eyes wandered past the teachers and he looked right at Riko. Who had just been about to hurry forwards to see if they might be able to slip into the staff room. Riko felt the blood drain from her face and froze, sensing the same panicked reaction on either side of her. He blinked, and for just a moment Riko dared to hope that it had been a fluke, carefully moving them backwards, but then he opened his eyes again.

Although they were twinkling with humour, they were most definitely tracing them. As he held the door open to wave the teachers through, he smiled with what had to be feigned absent-mindedness at the once again frozen trio and cleared his throat. “It’s a good thing nothing untoward happened today. I’d say we’ve been quite lucky to still have all our students in one piece, safely finishing the feast in their common rooms.”

Riko could take a hint, and so could Vi and Edie. They didn’t move a muscle until he had closed the door a few moments later. Only then did they dare to take a deep breath. Riko let go of her useless Obscurantis and almost sunk down on the steps. Her nerves were shot to pieces. As she raked her trembling hands through her hair she glanced at her friends.

Edie and Vi looked about as traumatized as she felt. Taking another deep breath, Riko raised her chin and told herself to buck up. For whatever reason the headmaster had let them off the hook. It was alright. Well, he had a reputation for being both madly powerful and crafty, but also a bit different. In the current sitch that was clearly a good thing so she wasn’t going to complain, that was for sure.

“Alright.” She resolutely turned to Edie. “I can take a hint, so I’ll give you each your own, Vi look away for a sec, and we’ll see each other at breakfast tomorrow. Relax, Edie, you’re alright. We’re not in trouble.”

The Ravenclaw was pale as a ghost but nodded shakily and Vi had already turned away. In short order Riko had fixed the spell on Edie and after a quick squeeze from her hand sent her friend up the stairs with a whispered “Don’t worry so much.”

Then Vi and Riko started off into the dungeons, sharing one Obscurantis until they had to part ways and Riko cast it on her friend in the same manner. Vi was tense but didn’t seem quite as unnerved as Edie had been, so it was a relatively easy silence until they parted with slightly ironic goodnights.

After that, Riko felt obliged to thank the ancestral spirits of whoever had designed the entrance of her house to have an antechamber. This time it was the asp waiting for her, who only nodded coolly and went inside on her own. Riko spent most of the remaining evening avoiding conversations while making sure to be seen only sporadically.

It had already turning into a sort of running-gag in her house, that Riko was so rarely seen because she was invisible most of the time and she didn’t mind the cover of being surrounded by her housemates, who would after all back her because she was a Slytherin, while also being safe from any questions about where she’d been.

She thought about informing Lord Malfoy about Quirrell’s oddness, but then, Professor Snape was in a much better position to do something about the strange Defence teacher, and she really wanted to avoid notice, so.. not her department, clearly.

As she fell asleep, Riko mused that even with all the new, odd developments, they had at least one solid new bit of intel. The hidden corridor in the third floor really did make a fresh tunnel for each entry. There had been no Professor Snape in front of them during their time inside it.

*

The start of November, counted as of breakfast next day, brought news that Riko reluctantly admitted to being good, in a certain way at least. It was certainly good that Amy had at long last made some friends in her house. Riko just wasn’t so sure the dreadful duo, namely Potter and Weasley, qualified as anything to be called good, ever. They were after all still insistently everything that could ever be called clueless and rude.

Otherwise, nothing changed at all. It seemed Quirrell’s actions had no consequences, nor did the fact the headmaster had seen the three of them sneak around invisibly, behind their teachers, after what had to qualify as some sort of school emergency. During Potions next day Professor Snape didn’t walk around as much as usual but he didn’t limp, either.

It was as if no one wanted to acknowledge what had happened. Instead, over the next few days, everyone and their proverbial uncle became utterly fixated on the Quidditch match that would be played on the 9th. Slytherin would play against Gryffindor and sentiments of house-rivalry became even more heated than usual.

As if to compensate, the weather turned fiercely cold. The mountains around the school turned icy grey, the lake mirroring chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Farley and Gray made sure the first-years knew how to correctly cast different warming charms, so they wouldn’t freeze their feet or hands or ears off, depending on their classroom or situation.

When they visited Hagrid on Sunday he was bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit-fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots, busy defrosting some clumps of what he told them was hippogriff droppings on the work-table behind his hut. Over tea Riko managed to work a mention of hellhounds into the conversation, telling him quite honestly she’d heard someone from her house use them in their cursing. It started Hagrid on a ramble that said a lot about both his knowledge and views on magical beasts.

“Firs’ly that’s a right fuzzy word t’use, even if ye’re cussin. See, there’s a number species that get called that by folks. There’s the firehounds, real great lumps, can breathe fire, obvi’sly, and the cerberi, they have three heads, see, even muggles have them in their stories, and then there’s the sarvaras, who’re real rare, best everyone knows ’bout them is that they’re living ghost hounds.”

Seeing their confused looks he made a thoughtful face and waved vaguely with his tea spoon as he continued. “As in, they’re ghosts but they’re alive in the sense that they can die and give birth. An’ less fire-hell-ish and normal dog-like there’s the dobhar-chú and then there’s the garmrs, mostly up north, they jest can’t help growing ever bigger, like most dragons that, and they get real old, so sum’times ye get stories about a hound as big as a hut, ye know.”

He looked very amused at their impressed faces. “But they also got their own magic, kinda like the Asian komainus, who’re.. well, closest thing ye’ll find hereabouts is the rare cases of a padfoot, as sometimes gets called grim. And don’t get me started on that. No one gives a rat’s ass ’bout them jest cause some idiots got it in their heads you die if ye see them, so no one knows what exactly they can do.”

He shook his head with exasperation. “We had a padfoot here for a few years, yeah, here at Hogwarts, in th’ forest, and I’ve seen him plenty and I’m still around. Don’t really know what-all he could do either, but he was a right trickster. Well, them’s the most well-known hounds that get called hellhound and that’s always with people being afraid of them, which is jest plain silly, ye know. All hounds are, jest like dogs, really great big softies.”

Then his face darkened, as he poured himself a new mug of tea. “Ye only get them to be all grumpy and aggressive if ye treat them bad, and for real long, too. And ’f course all them people as want them poor dears as watchdogs, ye know, chained to th’ gates an’ all, they’re always trying to get them sorted as beasts instead’a creatures, claiming they’re jest stupid dogs when they really want them as guards ’cause they’re that smart..”

He huffed a deep breath, obviously calming himself. It seemed to be a sore point for him. “Anyways, if ye ever see anyone selling or buying or using a hound, ye remember that and treat them smart. Hounds ’re all fond of music, so th’ best way ter calm one is ter not be threatening and just whistle or hum or something if ye don’t have an instrument at hand.. some of them even fall asleep, but that’s rare, ’s mostly when they’re still real young..”

And then he went on about how he was hoping to introduce them to a young cerberus he knew as soon as he could but it might be a while yet, and how he was that close to getting a firehound by means of what sounded like nothing so much as an exchange program for creatures, which led to even more talk on all sorts of very impressive sounding creatures. They went away from him with their heads reeling from the crazy amount of info he had given them and very gladly aware they now had a good chance of surviving what was clearly Hagrids’ friendly cerberus on the third floor. Then, over the week leading up to the match, they saw very little of Amy.

She had been roped into helping Potter with his homework because he had to do so much last minute practice. Though it irritated her, Riko kept silent about it, deciding to postpone any potential talks about it until after the match was done. If it would even be necessary then. Besides, she didn’t mind all that much not being seen with a known Gryffindor muggleborn for the few days that led up to the match.

It had been a bit stupid, or rather a lot, really, but Draco had just pissed her off, and there was reason Riko knew staying obscured was often better than being available to be talked at. He’d been ranting about Amy and how she must’ve been tutored, always knowing everything, and a complete freak, to be interested in everything like that, who cared about some obscure point of reference when you just wanted to transform a spoon into a fork?

It had been the declaration of freak that had set her off, Riko was self-aware enough to know that, she’d heard it refer to her often enough, or rather too damn often, and in combination with her ballast.. well, it had just really irked her. She’d smugly informed Draco that her friend hadn’t heard of real, actual magic before getting her letter, that her interest came from a fascination with the unknown that included the backround workings behind things he viewed as mundane, and that thus her brilliant skills and knowledge were entirely her own, thank you very much.

He’d looked stumped for all of a second, then he’d blinked and started rambling again. Why, why had she thought there was anything that would shut him up ever, _why_? Chog-oh-k’soh! And of course now he just wouldn’t stop calling Amy a freak, and Riko would gnaw off her foot before showing him she gave a fuck about that stupid word and just.. gah! At least he hadn’t called her mudblood, but then, that word was used only in whispers if ever.

From what she’d gathered, Professor Snape had no tolerance for it’s use, deeming it crass and not fit for civilized company. He didn’t seem to mind the sentiment overly much, but then, Slytherin was famed for it’s traditional views and those seemed to include a low or dismissive opinion on all things muggle. Well, with Professor Snape it was more likely a low and dismissive opinion of people in general, no matter what Tony said about him being quite alright, really.

At their first breakfast she’d interrupted speculations about their head-of-house and his potential of being a vampire, or ill, or cursed, by haughtily declaring them uninformed imbeciles. He was her spellfather, she’d said, and she was going to take offence if she ever heard anything like that again. It was something to respect, a yearmate and roommate with the head-of-house as spellfather, even if she shared him with Draco.

Which really made it two yearmates with the head-of-house for spellfather, two yearmates who liked to squabble as much as agree, at that. Considering this, Professor Snape’s curt speech made more sense, even if his neutrality was a spiky sort of subjective. So far Riko hadn’t heard anything contradictory, only corroborating stories of matters resolved with no interference, like that scuffle between Mulciber and Avery from sixth year, but, well..

It also meant that evidently not just one, but two powerful families had thought him a good fall-back guardian for their heirs, despite his own name not being listed in Nature’s Nobility. That was certainly impressive, as was his famed lack of tolerance for bullshit, idiots, and Gryffindors. It was also a good reason to lie low in regards to Amy for just a few days. No need to invite trouble, even if she could have handled it.

It was odd enough how this sudden bout of Quidditch-rage had so quickly taken over the entire school. Everyone was suddenly an expert on how best to play a decent game of it. Riko had so far only overheard talk on it in passing and not paid much attention, but now there was no escape. From what she’d gathered just by sitting in the common room and the Great Hall, it was a fast paced, entertaining spectators sport.

There were seven players on each side, three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The Chasers were after a football-sized, red ball called the Quaffle, to throw it through one of the three goal-hoops of the opposite side, while the Keeper was trying to prevent just that, as any goal would earn the team ten points. At the same time there were two black, slightly smaller balls, called Bludgers, charmed to fly about and attack any nearby players at random, while the two Beaters were working to prevent just that, beating the balls in the direction of the other team with their bats. The Seeker’s job was essentially to ignore all this while looking for a small, animated golden ball called Snitch, about the size of a golf ball, and catch it.

This Snitch, however, was not just small, it was also notoriously nimble and fast. And as the successful capture of the Snitch awarded the team hundred and fifty points, and ended the game, the Seeker couldn’t really hope to be left alone. Seekers were notoriously targeted by Beaters and just about anyone else, to prevent them from catching the Snitch. It meant they were often the most interesting to watch, awarding them a certain celebrity.

Riko thought that ironic and borderline hilarious, as Potter spent most of the week trying to avoid notice with very limited success. She couldn’t bother to spare him much attention though, despite the occasionally rather funny cases of teasing he drew, because after the resounding non-reaction to the events of Hallowe’en she’d decided on a cautious observation of Quirrell. Riko really didn’t want to catch the teacher’s attention, well, _any_ attention that could lead to uncomfortable questions if she was honest, but still, she was curious.

Perhaps she could find some evidence or insight in his motives, and all the while she wondered what her head of house knew on the matter. Whatever it was seemed to require either more information, or more evidence, or both. Professor Snape obviously detested the man and wanted to see him gone, there had to be a reason he hadn’t acted yet.

And there was definitely something off about their Defence teacher, and what trouble could a little watching get her into, anyway? She’d just be careful not to be noticed. He was after all not like the headmaster, she’d tested that worrisome possibility very carefully during Tuesday’s lesson by obscuring varying part of his notes. And besides, whatever was wrong with him, she could take care of herself, and not being noticed was the main part in that, so there!

Thus, when during the match on Saturday Potter’s broom started to go nuts, seemingly insistent to throw him, Riko first checked the last known location of one certain Defence teacher. Completely and utterly proving her point he was not where she’d last seen him, and it took her longer than she felt comfortable with to find him again.

Quirrell was now standing several rows further up, his eyes fixed straight upwards, without even blinking, murmuring non-stop, though from the non-reaction of the people around him silently. Riko would have bet good money he was the cause of Potters current problem, though she couldn’t really see the point.

Even if the annoying Gryffindor would fall off, he’d either be caught by one of his teammates flying in circles below the dramatic scene, or someone would cast a floating charm on him. Did Quirrell perhaps have an accomplice and this was just another distraction? There didn’t seem to be anything else going on, though, except that Flint kept on shooting goals, ignoring the drama unlike the rest of the players.

Riko pointed Vi and Edie in the direction of the teacher, cursing herself under her breath for not telling them about her little surveillance side project. They were just moving to rush over and, well, do _some_ thing, when they spotted Amy racing towards the Defence teacher. Their Gryffindor friend didn’t even pause as she bowled by behind him, knocking him over so hard that he fell headfirst down into the row before him.

Instead, she raced on and crouched down behind the tall figure of Professor Snape one row further down, pulled out her wand and whispered a few words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand on to the hem of his robes. Only then did Riko notice her head of house was also looking up in concentration and moving his lips non-stop.

Well, until he realized he was on fire. After the first surprise he quickly doused the merrily dancing, blue-white flames, looking around furiously. Quirrell was still in the process of being picked up by the people he had fallen into, stuttering and looking completely flabbergasted. When Riko spared a short look up to Potter he had already climbed back on his broom, obviously back in control of the damn thing and speeding towards the ground.

Amy had scrambled out of view as soon as the flames had started creeping up the professor’s robes, and Riko pushed forward to catch up with her before she could race off again to the stands she’d shared with Weasley and the other Gryffie first-years. She was just in time and managed to draw Amy to the side into a corner below the raised rows, Edie and Vi closely behind.

“Amy! What the..” Riko hastily looked around for a second before hissing even more quietly. “Did you see Quirrell? Tell me you saw Quirrell! Also, what the bloody.. we need to talk!”

Amy was still out of breath but her frantic nod did wonders to relax Riko’s state of mind. Vi and Edie had arrived as well but were quiet. Amy took a steadying breath.

“I pointed them both out, but Harry saw Professor Snape’s leg yesterday, it’s still injured, or maybe again, and I couldn’t exactly tell him all about Quirrell and Hallowe’en, could I, so..”

Riko spared a second to hope they could soon have a more extended, private conversation, but only nodded back to her friend. “You racing back now?”

Amy nodded, but whatever she’d wanted to say was drowned out by a mighty roar from the crowd of spectators. They rushed to the edge of the stands. Potter was standing on the ground, holding up his arm in triumph, the snitch in his hand. They looked at each other for a moment, Amy shooting them an apologetic look.

“Early breakfast tomorrow. I’m pretty much done with all the homework, so unless you need anything we have the whole day for ourselves.”

They all nodded and clapped her shoulder before letting her run off again. Vi and Edie were looking at her a little miffed and Riko gave them a small shrug and an apologetic smile. “Sorry, didn’t want to make too much of a project of my watching. Not like we got nothing else to do, y’know.”

Their unimpressed looks, though tempered by exasperated tolerance, showed her they were quite aware of the unsaid. She hadn’t wanted to drag them into one more mess so early after the scare of Hallowe’en. By now everyone was standing up and shuffling to get back to the castle, and they hurriedly moved out of the way, taking care to be discreet on the way to their room. A short detour, to check if the cerberus was still there, showed that it was.

“Alright, I was watching him. And I’m going to keep an eye on him in the future, too.” Riko started as soon as they were inside their room, nothing like being proactive. “But nothing else ’cause I’m not looking for trouble with a socially accepted professor. Even if he is a bit of a creep and possibly a junky. So there’s really no need to feel left out. And besides, three people watching him is going to register, especially because none of you were trained by ninjas or scouts or.. well, you get it. No offence.”

She’d crossed her arms and leaned against one of the shelves, because this was about something non-negotiable. If Quirrell was indeed any sort of threat she had absolutely no intention of letting her friends show up on his radar. Vi gave her a measuring look before leaning against the opposing wall in a very similar manner.

She obviously caught Riko’s meaning and didn’t bother to comment, instead moving on to “So, you were trained by some interesting people, hm.”

Her voice was very even and bone-dry, but a bit of warmth was lurking in the corner of her eyes. She tilted her head and continued lightly, an ever-so-small smile shining through. “I’m still waiting for you to show me some of those moves you used, you know.”

Edie had closed the door and then taken a seat on the couch. She was now eyeing them with exasperation, heaving a deep sigh. “Alright, folks, you’re real cute, acting all pro and whatnot, but how about we use the rest of today to get our homework finished, so we can discuss this whole mess tomorrow with Amy and her info.”

Vi and Riko looked at each other for a moment longer, measuring as much as sharing a friendly understanding, before turning to Edie with their respective version of a sheepish smile and cover-of-civility.

“’Course, let’s go get our stuff,” Riko harmlessed aggressively, “And sorry, Vi, I totally forgot. If you like we can just sort of squeeze it into the duelling training, you’re all getting pretty good with the wandless stuff, so we can shorten that..?”

“Sounds good.” Vi gave a nod and a short, official smile; small, though, and thus the variant polite-but-really-amused.

Edie looked at them fondly as if they were a bunch of toddlers she’d prevented from throwing their playthings at each other. It was cute and also a really good thing, one Riko was extremely grateful for, that the Ravenclaw girl was too well-adjusted and, well, too much of a nice kid to realize how Riko and Vi had a sharper, more informed outlook on life.

Because by now Riko was absolutely sure of it, and it was one of the reasons she was so glad for Vi’s silent, steady acceptance. They were both only too aware of the nasty deals and violence that littered the edges of those patches of lawful niceties most people called ordered society; of the casual double standards of those as could afford it via money or connections. In a way they weren’t so much acting ‘all pro’ as they were acting the part of innocent kids.

It would have taken just a little bantering, not arguing by the way, for them to get to the same result Edie had seemingly made them agree to. But, well, that was Edie, she always wanted people to civilly and politely get along, and be rational and all that. She wasn’t naive or anything, no, she just didn’t know, first-hand, some certain layers and edges, and thus she couldn’t recognize them, thank all the bloody gods and spirits.

Sometimes Riko wondered with a sort of confused fascination what it’d be like, to not know, or just how much Edie really didn’t know, and if there was perhaps some things she noticed but left alone for the sake of being peaceful, or if she just interpreted them differently. Surely Edie knew at least a little, about old families and such? The Eohyrdes were a pretty old family, after all, according to Nature’s Nobility, though hardly politically active since forever.

Amy had of course no clue, coming from a completely different background, but Riko did wonder how it was in the other houses. Did they just not talk about it at all? They had people from old and influential families there, too, after all, and Riko was doubtful those ties and obligations were simply ignored, just because you weren’t in Slytherin. I’d be very weird, if that were the case, right? Never mind the fortunes of your family while you were here, at the latest you’d regret it when you finished school and had no contacts or allies?

Well, it was a moot point for now, not like she could ask either of her friends about it. Trying to get a feel by listening closely was certainly better. And anyway, right now, like Edie had said, they had other concerns. It was a bit of running around, but no one argued against Riko obscuring all three of them, and visiting the entrances to all their houses before they settled in their hidden spot in the library. While Riko had, with Amy not available, used the time to re-do her Solitary Pounds again, they were mostly a good fall-back. Not good for dynamic situations, though, and on a weekend, especially with the whole school so active after the game, the chance of the Duck Squad jumping one of them on the way back was just too high to split.

On Sunday no one was surprised when Amy told them about Potter and Weasley being convinced that Professor Snape was trying to steal whatever was guarded by the cerberus, and kill Potter in the process. Even Amy was embarrassed by her two mane-brained friends.

They were however surprised about what else she’d learned. Hagrid’s cerberus friend which was indeed the one behind the door, was named Fluffy, and they all agreed this was rather cute if also rather crazy. Well, Hagrid. But there was more. It was _Hagrid_ who had taken whatever was now hidden in their school before it could be taken from Gringotts, and as Potter had been along they knew even more: it was a small thing, would fit easily in a hand, had been wrapped, and belonged to someone named Nicolas Flamel. Also, not only Hagrid, no, all the heads of house, the headmaster, _and_ Quirrell had done something to protect it. It had to be pretty powerful or valuable, and whoever Flamel was he obviously had a very good connection to Dumbledore, who was apparently also playing some weird gambit with it.

They all agreed with Amy’s reasons for not telling Potter and Weasley all she knew about Quirrell, she couldn’t have done so without telling of their sneaking around. They also had to agree, grudgingly, that in light of this it would be a bad idea to ask Madam Pince or any of the professors about Nicolas Flamel. They’d have to try and figure it out themselves.

One week after the Quidditch match, the four of them hid out in the library until it was almost midnight, and very carefully snuck into the forbidden room. Edie had owled her sister and Lea had sent her a small flute. As soon as they were all inside they quickly closed the door and Edie started playing a very simple lullaby. Meanwhile, the rest was ready to come to her rescue at any threatening movement by Fluffy, which fortunately turned out to be not necessary.

Fluffy had just been waking when Edie started playing, and he went right back to sleep. Still, Edie didn’t stop playing. They were lucky Fluffy was lying in the back corner of the room, so they had a clear look at the trap door. It was locked with a much stronger charm than the door, which became obvious when none of their Alohomoras had even the slightest effect.

They might’ve been able to open it in time, but there was no chance now, without Riko’s book on the subject along. And even then they couldn’t be sure they’d be able to recast the locking charm as strong and clever as it was now. In light of this they decided they really didn’t want to make things easier for Quirrell, even if he seemed right incompetent so far. After all, the whole mess at the Quidditch match had obviously been completely pointless.

They’d all agreed that, although Professor Snape clearly detested Harry Potter like the plague, it was, all things considered, far more likely Quirrell was the one hexing the broom while the potion master was trying to counter it. For one, Riko had pointed out, if Professor Snape really wanted Potter dead, he’d surely manage it in a far less conspicuous manner, and without anyone ever finding the body, too.

That had gone over surprisingly well, in hindsight, though at the time it had taken Riko a few uncomfortable moments to grasp the exact shape of the problem with that declaration. Or rather problems, depending on the different points of view and, edge-all, that was just really embarrassing and really, really uncomfortable. But, well, they had all agreed to the point, didn’t matter if they agreed to it’s literal meaning or took it more humorously.

For now, though, they went back to their beds, simultaneously satisfied and dissatisfied. Then they had their training to continue, and homework to do, and the Duck Squad to evade and deal with, and there was still their goal to explore the school, and Hagrid to visit, and then Amy had to be cheered up after reading about Freddie Mercury’s death in her muggle papers and going on a rant on the abysmal circumstances around it (a rather standard even, even withot the prominent and tragic death, but it left her more depressed than usual), and Riko had to help them aproperly practice glamours, Eliria’s kind, once they’d halfway got the taking-a-truth-and-spinning-it bit, and apply it to general and directed pranks, and about a million other things to do.

Besides, clearly they didn’t have to worry overmuch about the whole thing, because Quirrell was, even if he was trying to steal the mystery item, not very competent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be it noted: the porter ghost and the bones of Professor Snape’s actions are blatantly stolen from copperbadge, Laocoons Children, which covers Stealing Harry’s Harry going off to Hogwarts. I’m not sure if the ghost was a house elf there as well, but, well.. it made sense here, I thought ^_^;


	13. Birthday Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthday surprises tend, as a rule, to be good, don't they?

As November went on, the Untouchables continued their busy routine, and Amy was content to spend only three or four of seven days exclusively with her new Gryffindor friends. It made Riko feel warm inside. Quirrell, in contrast, seemed to have gotten cold feet, or at least he didn’t do anything Riko could see.

Their glamours remained unreliable, but as far as relevant spells went by the time December rolled around all three of her friends were able to obscure objects for longer than an hour. So of course Riko was starting them on the second variant of the spell, obscuring yourself.

It came as no surprise that Vi was coming along fastest. The quiet Hufflepuff was wicked good at sneaking around and had about as much affinity to distancing herself from what went on around her as Riko. She still couldn’t hold it longer than a few minutes, and could move only very slowly because it required so much concentration, but, well, progress, and from there it would only take practice, which Vi was after all very good with.

Amy, in contrast, had the hardest time of it. Riko thought it was mostly because the idea of disconnecting and stepping back from the world around her was not a frame of mind that came easily to her Gryffindor friend. When she did manage to fade herself, the effect broke as soon as she even started to move, or saw anything she associated with interacting.

Edie alternated at random between the two extremes, and Riko had so far found no pattern as to what triggered the changes. It was odd, but there seemed to be nothing she could do. By now they didn’t spend much of their training time on it, simply because obscuring yourself was something that didn’t exactly profit from being with others.

Consequently, the whole practice of wand-less magic didn’t need as much time now and was mostly experimental, since the number of actual spells which Riko knew, and which weren’t heavy artillery, was very short. It gave them more time for coming up with and trying out other wand-less cantrips, for duelling, and for the purely physical training Vi had asked for.

Surprisingly, Edie was the one to take the lead in this, although she was often overly careful to avoid hurting her training partner. Vi obviously profited from her duelling training and was very matter of fact about taking or landing any hits. It meant she was a fantastic partner to show moves with, and a great influence when partnered with Edie or Amy.

The two of them were very averse to even the idea of hurting anyone, much less a friend, and it often got in their way, especially in Edie’s case. The Ravenclaw girl had an innate dexterity and speed that made Riko think she would’ve made an excellent ninja, and she was uncommonly strong and resilient. Amy usually took a while to get into the roll of it, probably because she wasn’t used to purely physical activity and had to concentrate on not thinking about it, or becoming distracted.

The Gryffindor had understood the concept of quicktime almost immediately and was able to use it with great success for a few sessions, until the others caught up. Then the advantage not only vanished, the possibility to think - and thus over-think - in a combat situation was back with a vengeance. Amy was very good about it, though, working hard to overcome her unfortunate tendency to get caught up in her own thoughts.

Of course Vi was the one to remark, dry as chalk, “Quicktime, huh”, which was fair enough. It was a bit of a misnomer, as far as using it went. Instead of any perceptible speeding-up, time would seem to slow down, and you couldn’t even move or react faster than normal, as in what you had trained your body to. It did however allow for reaching or forming complex mental operations in almost no time at all, as it accelerated all perception and thought processes. Thus a ninja could consider a situation under a number of different angles while still making their actions look like split-second decisions, or even instinctive reactions.

It was a huge advantage to have, although overly frequent use would run you into the ground real fast, Riko knew that from experience. But well, that was to be expected, it did after all use a person’s natural resources like mad. And it really wasn’t odd at all if you knew that even normal people could experience this “slowing-of-time” in moments of disaster, when their internal clock sped up in an effort to enable them to survive. Of course in these accidental cases the effect lasted only seconds while a ninja could hold that state for over an hour, and that was an idea Riko would admit to find frightening to consider.

She wasn’t quite sure what her personal record was as she only used it sparingly, what with how taxing it was. They tried it out one Friday afternoon and Riko managed to land solidly above ten minutes until she had such a splitting headache she gave up on training altogether for the day, while her friends all varied somewhere around five minutes plus but didn’t feel as bad afterwards.

Amy had also, perhaps in conjunction with her fast learning of quicktime, managed to regain and train her trick of moving through objects, though she could hold the effect only as long as she could hold her breath, and had to concentrate very hard to not start falling into the ground. As if in exchange, probably from how prone he was to overthinkin, she had a harder time learning the simple little wandless effects Vi and Edie had managed to relearn, like letting objects fly around and explode in bits.

Either way, they were all coming along nicely, Riko thought, it was just too bad that so far none of them had managed to learn Amy’s trick of becoming ghostly, not even in part. Their occasional run-ins with the Duck Squad remained retreats, but they did get better at both avoidance and making it covered, even strategical ones. The only real cause for worry turned out to be Edie falling ill again, barely two weeks after the Quidditch spectacle.

She’d looked like death warmed over at breakfast but they only managed to forcibly make her go to the hospital wing after lunch, where she’d looked about ready to fall over, and then Riko had to plod through the tedium of Thursday’s Astronomy all by herself. When they visited after dinner they were allowed only a very short look because Edie was sleeping. It seemed Madam Pomfrey was coming to like them, to allow them even that.

Their friend looked so bad that they reluctantly canned their plan to visit her during the night. When they were allowed to see Edie the next day, after lunch, they were pleased and proud that Madam Pomfrey agreed to release her patient if they’d make sure she would rest. They took her to Hagrid’s hut, having agreed that the fresh air would do her good even if he turned out to not be at home. He was in though, and they spent a pleasant afternoon with tea, rock cakes, and gossip about all the creatures Hagrid had worked with in his time. When it was going on time for dinner, Edie was starting to look ready to keel over again and they dragged her back to Ravenclaw tower, to sleep it off.

When she showed up at breakfast on Saturday looking mostly like her usual, good-natured self they were all relieved. By now Vi and Amy had joined Riko in her research for potential causes of their friend’s condition but it was slow going. Edie, when asked, was evasive like a true master and always terribly subdued afterwards. Thus, clearly no point upsetting her if it wouldn’t do any good anyway.

Better to find it out themselves. That way they’d be able to present whatever help they came up with right along with the admission of having nosed into her personal business. That, in turn, meant making no mention of it beyond occasionally inquiring after her health, and always making sure to get her to Madam Pomfrey quickly when she showed signs of coming down with it again.

But regardless of anything else, Riko was looking forward to the holidays around Yule, Christmas, and New Year. Although she mostly enjoyed her busy schedule, she was eager to have a some time to herself, without having to always track the time and rush to this or that class or whatever. First week of December, Professor Snape had instructed the house that those staying for the holidays should inform him in the space of a week. Riko had written him a note and made Korra deliver it in the late evening of the next day, directly to her head of house. She didn’t care if the rest of her house knew, but she worried if Draco knew he might mention it at home.

Might lead to potentially awkward situations with her spellfather, that, which obviously wouldn’t do. Gods and spirits, and Laughing Loki in particular, as Edie liked to say, Riko was just glad, immensely glad, that Lord Malfoy seemed content to ignore her existence so far. Of course there was the off chance he’d told Draco in one of the letters, but she doubted it. In that case their King Cobra’d be acting differently, he really tended toward obvious most times.

It was just one more continuous, admittedy rather slight challenge, to avoid talk about it with her housemates, every success worth a bit of glee, yes, but still sort of annoying. When Riko mentioned this during one really tedious lesson of Defence, Vi gave her a curious look and then remarked in that off-hand, flag-raising way of hers that she’d decided to stay, too.

Amy and Edie would be spending the holiday with their family, were clearly looking forward to it, and it was odd, watching them without being able to really relate, a thought she could see mirrored in Vi, occasionally. By then Hogwarts was covered in several feet of snow, the lake was frozen solid, and McGonagall had loudly punished the Weasley twins with detention for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. It was quite a spectacle, more than the actual prank even.

The stern deputy headmistress ranted quite creatively at them in the wee-egg courtyard, and it was almost picturesque, with the air sheltered enough from the wind to allow for the snow flakes to dance down in slow patterns, glittering in the slanted light. The two red-heads had something of a reputation as all-purpose pranksters, and Amy had confirmed their tendency for mischief, even fooling around in their own house.

They were Ron Weasley’s older brothers by two years and Riko figured the four of them were lucky to not have caught their attention. They were busy enough as it was, no need to get a pair of tricksters on their case. That was really the reason she kept her friends obscured through the spectacle, and, well, maybe she also didn’t fancy catching McGonagall’s eye, specially when the professor was in such a mood.

Heck, the entire castle was increasingly antsy by then, tempers growing irritable, most likely from a sort of stir-crazy sneaking in. With the snow falling so heavily, and all the bloody time, going out was not on anyone’s list of things to do. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.

Meanwhile, Vi, Amy, and Riko were busy trying to come up with good gifts for Edie, both for her birthday and the change-of-year mess of Yule, Christmas, and New Year. The Ravenclaw’s birthday was on the 20th and they were determined to do well for both occasions instead of lumping them together, as Edie had mentioned happened often for her. It was not as easy as it had been for Amy, simply because they didn’t have any helpful outside sources that weren’t shops.

Neither Amy’s parents, nor Vi’s family qualified for a cake, or anything else in the way of great gifts, if for entirely different reasons. On impulse Riko asked the house elves about the cake and it turned out the most difficult thing about it was to make sure they wouldn’t go overboard. It was a great relief when Finny promised them a simple marble cake with a thick lemon balm frosting. The rest of the gifts had been ordered per owl after they’d spent a crazy amount of time paging through all sorts of catalogues, lent from all their respective housemates, and in Vi and Amy’s case counting and calculating their allowance every which way. Riko was careful to make general, understanding noises and didn’t elaborate on her finances.

It was just the worst of luck that Edie was again all peaky on her birthday, though if Riko was honest her friend had already started to look under the weather yesterday. Today was the last day before the holidays, and a Friday too, so the mood was accordingly good. They’d already made much of her during breakfast and had looked forward to a free afternoon of cake, sweets, some games and fun. But Edie was already slumped on their couch when the three of them arrived bearing a basket of lunch and cake, and they all noticed how exhaustedly she held herself: as if she was very tired and every noise and light hurt her head.

After a short meal, watching Edie poke her food with little interest but putting on a show for their sake, they decided to make one last effort, packed up, and hurried over several fresh feet of snow towards Hagrid’s. He was both in and glad to see them, his only complaint that they hadn’t told him of Edie’s birthday, and while they were still apologizing he was already making them tea. Edie seemed to have an easier time relaxing here and they could see she really did enjoy the cake and tea. Still, they were careful not to raise their voices as they presented her with their gifts.

It was nice to see real joy as she unpacked them. Riko had been proud of the dark blue sweater with a hood that could regulate the level of sound that reached the wearers ears. It was supposedly used by festival workers and hunters, and she’d traded Shibazaki to layer a runed design of a bird on. It seemed Edie was happy with it as well. Her old copy of The Princess Bride, that Riko had hidden in the folds of the garment, made Edie smile at her even more warmly, her eyes shining in the light of Hagrid’s fire like molten gold.

An adjustable wand-halter like Amy’s and a small copper flute, good for being enchanted, made Edie grin happily at Vi, and the caterpillow scarf from Amy made her laugh. The Gryffindor had also got her hands on a pair of ear plugs and had someone in her house enchant them so that you would only hear whatever you were looking at. Edie immediately put them in and looked almost deliriously happy with the result.

As peaceful and pleasant as all this was, it was also obvious that instead of better Edie was getting worse. The cake had been quickly demolished, so around half-two Riko traded looks with Amy and Vi and they all rose and started making their good-bye to Hagrid. As they were trudging back through the snow Edie gave them a look that was both amused and resigned. But mostly it was tired.

“Do I get to bring my gifts up to my dorm first, or are you going to drag me to the hospital wing kicking and screaming right away?”

Giving her a good look-over, Riko made a point to smirk as she drawled back. “Well, I’m not sure, just how much kicking and screaming do you feel up to?”

“Depending on what Madam P says, you might be right glad to have them along, you know.” Vi pointed out, one eyebrow raised, worry and warmth in her eyes.

“You know we’re right, so there’s really no point to try and argue,” Amy smiled sweetly. “Just relax, we’ll look after you.”

Edie just gave a small sigh and a tired smile, and didn’t argue when they made directly for Madam Pomfrey’s domain after Riko had obscured them all just inside the entrance hall. The mediwitch was positively mellow, allowing them to stay with Edie until it was dinner time although their friend fell asleep soon after drinking the two potions Madam Pomfrey had given her. She didn’t look as bad any more when they left so they were a bit miffed when the mediwitch wouldn’t let them see her after dinner, telling them to come back tomorrow.

They didn’t argue, of course, not wanting to seem ungrateful, but Riko knew just by looking at her two friends that this wasn’t something they would take lying down. As far as they knew Edie hadn’t even had dinner. The mediwitch had certainly implied so, telling them her patient was “still resting”. It just wouldn’t do, on her birthday no less!

They retreated to the library, where they hid out in a remote corner and went over the whole situation, still trying to find out what could be done to help Edie. It was already agreed they would bring her something from the kitchen after lights-out without any need to discuss it. To pass the time they made the newest of what felt like a dozen lists, writing down everything they knew. When Riko later thought back on that evening she felt a bit of an idiot, and she knew Amy and Vi did, too.

They’d written their usual list of symptoms and dates (it had started with the autumn equinox and Winter Solstice was set for Sunday but she’d been fine on Samhain), and gone over books that insisted having magic bolstered your immune system, and a lot of other stuff on the symptoms that might be relevant but then really wasn’t because it didn’t fit, and the best idea they’d come up with was that it might be a sort of curse, family- or blood-based maybe.

Yes, it turned out to be sort-of-true, if one saw it more colloquial and less technical, but it was also just about as far from correct as possible. As was, at about two hours to midnight they were sneaking down to the kitchens, and then back up rather more slowly, laden down by a basket of hot tea and cold dinner stuffs. They almost had a heart-attack, all three of them, when they cleared the last steps into the Entrance Hall.

There was Madam Pomfrey, opening the enormous door, and beside her, swaddled in at least three blankets, was Edie. They watched with bated breath as the two unlike and unlikely figures went outside, letting in a freezing wind until the doors closed with an ominous sound. Riko didn’t know what to say, or think really, and, looking at them, neither did her two friends.

Didn’t mean they didn’t know what to do, though. As one they moved forward, the basket quickly stowed in the small broom cabinet on the way. There was no way for them to open the door right away without risking discovery, but Amy defiantly raised her chin and suddenly, in a moment of distinct disorientation, they were pulled through the thick wood.

As they stood in the heavily falling snow Amy let go of their hands and leaned forward, hands on her knees to catch her breath. Riko checked their Obscurantis, which had disappeared. Heart beating wildly, she concentrated on rebuilding it, pushing much in more power and wrapping it much tighter than usual. Meanwhile Vi used the time to make them silent.

Then, realizing they had to hurry or lose their targets in the weather and darkness, they quickly started forward. Despite the bad visibility Riko was convinced they were walking towards Hagrids’, which was simply odd. But well, what about this wasn’t? After what Riko thought to be about half the way they left the route to Hagrid and veered off to the right.

Signing at her friends Riko saw her own worries mirrored. Hagrid had shown them the tree they were apparently heading for only from a distance, warning them of it’s violent nature. It was a rare Whomping Willow and the name was merited. It would attack anyone and anything that came within reach of it’s branches, and it had very good aim.

Still, whatever was going on, surely Madam Pomfrey was aware of the situation so they kept following. It wasn’t long until they saw, and heard, the tree in action, the creaking and whooshing of the careening branches not easing their worries. Then, suddenly, it stopped.

They were too far away to see what exactly had happened, only that the two figures had stopped just out of the tree’s range for a few moments, then the tree seemed to freeze. The two figures moved forward again, hastily, and disappeared somewhere near the tree’s trunk.

Even as she hurried forward, Riko knew they were too far off. The Willow was already starting its Whomping again. They moved as close as they could without getting bashed to bits but, although Riko could make out a shadowy hole by the roots through which she suspected their targets had passed, she didn’t find any clue on how to make the damn tree stop it’s thrashing.

It was maddening. For a few seconds Riko thought about dragging her friends down there as shadows, but they would loose their Obscurantis and probably the silencing charms from Vi, too, and she rather wanted to avoid notice by their targets. Same if Amy would pull them. She told them the latter bit and saw that although they didn’t like it they agreed. Her ping didn’t show people in range, but the tree was alive and thus interfering, and she just didn’t want to risk it. Whatever was down there was bound to be a closed room, and such spaces were not made for popping into existence unnoticed.

They circled the tree but the figures had gone straight down so they were not surprised to find nothing useful. So they waited. And then they waited some more. Riko was reasonably sure it had only been a few minutes, but it felt like ages, standing around in the whirling snow without a clue, while her friend might well be travelling through some weird subterranean labyrinth. Taking a deep breath, Riko raised her chin and gritted her teeth before whispering.

“Alright, that does it. You’re pretty unlikely to be noticed here, so wait a few seconds, I’ll be right back.”

Letting go of their hands she was glad to see them both nod reluctantly instead of arguing. Turning around she drew up focus to drop into quicktime and then formed the seal with her right hand. Then she blurred forward as a shadow, straight into the hole and downwards. It wasn’t far, just a short slide that ended in a tunnel.

Ahead she could see a flickering light, then it disappeared, probably around a corner. Very good, now she could bring the others down, even if it was bound to suck like mad. There was really no better way. Riko sped up again, back to her two friends. Jumping into her normal dimensions again she almost staggered, forcing herself to take a deep breath of the cold air.

“There’s a tunnel downstairs, seems like they turned a corner, so we’ll have a chance to get our camouflage up. I’ll pull you two along, less fuss and risk.”

As she explained she looked mostly as Amy, who seemed to understand immediately. If she knew what to roughly expect, Amy was quite good with her trick, though her ability to pull someone along was new. But this was not the case here at all, and Amy didn’t have Riko’s night vision either. They both took a strong hold of her, then Riko concentrated again, forming the seal.

It hurt like crazy, that was the first thing she noted, and she hoped the others didn’t get to feel it, too. The quicktime let her catalogue every detail of dragging two giant fireballs attached with burning clamps to her arms. As she put all her will into moving forward, towards the hole, it felt like she was forcing her way against a barricade of force.

Riko kept at it, stubbornly, and with the quicktime it seemed to take forever until she gained some momentum. Then, her speed increasing to what was probably very fast despite her warped, subjective impression, Riko became aware of what could only be called friction. Like a sandstorm, as if something was scorching or ripping off her skin, not that shadows had any skin or were subject to friction.

She’d hoped to bring them down to the start of the tunnel but as soon as she’d reached the start of the slide she gathered herself and pushed, and they all tumbled back into corporeality, sliding down as a messy ball of limbs. Not her plan at all, but if she’d pulled them along any further Riko wasn’t sure she’d have been able to get them out of the shadows again, which was according to Shizuka one of the legendarily worst fates possible.

The tunnel was made of packed earth, muffling what little sound their landing made. Riko had to bite her lip to stop a groan from escaping, making out similar expressions on her friend’s faces. But as Vi and Amy picked themselves up again she was glad to see their movements were without hesitation. It seemed they’d got through scot-free.

Her own limbs were trembling with a mix of phantom pain and adrenaline, and when she tried to stand she almost keeled over from a sudden lurch of vertigo. Leaning against the wall with closed eyes for a few deep breaths worked wonders, though. It was dark down here, no light at all, but of course they couldn’t conjure one without risking discovery. Vi was already recasting her silencer, Riko moved over to them, drawing up another Obscurantis, and they set out again.

Riko took point and it really was damn tiring to keep up her Demon Eyes, to make sure they had a clear way. At least it wasn’t really a labyrinth, just a straightforward tunnel with a few bends to it. They had been moving steadily forward for what seemed a while, Riko was pretty sure they were leaving Hogwarts grounds, when far off in front of them a small wavering light appeared. After a short, signed discussion they continued onwards.

The tunnel was by no means broad but roughly circular in diameter. It should easily be possible to evade a person walking through it by pressing against the walls. Unsurprisingly the light turned out to belong to Madam Pomfrey, hovering in front of her as she directed it with her wand. The mediwitch seemed deep in thought and passed them by without problem. What was surprising, was just how much longer the tunnel was. They had to walk just as long as they had before they’d seen Madam Pomfrey’s light, though the tunnel was rising now until Riko could see the end, a rough stair leading up.

As they hurried to draw closer she made out a trap door in the ceiling. They’d have to open it to be able to walk the stairs upwards. Riko explained the setup, barely breathing the words. The last shine of Madam Pomfrey had vanished a while ago but they hadn’t got out of full-on ambush mode since entering the tunnel.

Riko closed her eyes and focused, discreetly formed the finger-seal of her ninja-ping again, to see if anyone was around. Beside the close echoes that belonged to her friends there was only one familiar signal, upstairs, not much further removed than just this flight of stairs. It could be no one else but Edie, that much was clear.

“Let’s go up.”

Together the three of them pushed the heavy wooden hatch upwards, unfortunately overbalancing as they cleared the stairs and sending it crashing down the other way. It landed with a resounding bang on the ground. Well, it was definitely open now.

Riko couldn’t say what she had expected, really, but without a doubt it was not the sight that greeted them. It was a room, a bare, disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded-up but a door to their right hung open, leading to a shadowy hallway.

Edie was huddled in a blanket in the corner furthest away from the trap door, staring at them like they were ghosts. Oppressive, eerie silence hung in the room like thick mist. Edie started to shake and Riko saw that she was crying. Amy and Vi were throwing her helpless looks, clearly as blindsided by this as she.

“Well..” she started, then took a deep breath.

Now everyone was looking at her like she had three heads. Setting her jaw just so, Riko moved forward slowly. She might not know what to say, and that was admittedly a shocking thing, but the important part was that Edie was shaking and crying, and if she couldn’t tell her something to cheer her up then she could at least give her a hug. The resolve, once found, gave her back the ability to babble.

“Edie, hey, relax. We’re not ghosts. Everything’s alright, no one has a clue, we sneaked right past Madam P on her way back. Sorry, we kind of forgot to bring the basket we got you from the kitchens but there’s enough stuff here for a nice fire at least and I hope you’re not too hungry to wait for breakfast because we’re all not as tasty as we may look...”

It had only been a question of time, Riko knew, until in one of her runs of silly babbling she’d say something so wrong that she broke someone. It was just her luck that it was here and now.

At first, as Riko moved forward, talking as if to placate a hurt animal, Edie had seemed calmed, almost hypnotized. Then, from one moment to the next, she was screaming at them, drawing the blanket to cover her ears, trying to crawl backwards through the wall. It was so out of character for her friend that Riko stumbled a few steps back in shock.

Edie never even raised her voice, ever. Not during any of their trainings or run-ins with the Duck Squad, no matter how impatient she got with any of them teasing each other, fuck, she hadn’t even given a yell or cried when last week one of the odd instruments in Astronomy had fallen from it’s high shelf after Riko fooled around and knocked into it. And that damn thing had smashed her hand so badly that Riko was tasked with bringing her to Madam Pomfrey.

It was simply impossible that Edie just start screaming, even more impossible that she be hardly coherent. But the only thing that was repeated often enough to be clear was “get out”. Her friend was panicking so badly she couldn't even breathe and Riko hadn’t the faintest clue how to help. She turned to Vi and Amy but only saw her helplessness mirrored.

Then a number of things happened, clearing up their questions, unfortunately without giving them a single bloody hint on how to help their friend. Riko had noticed that the room was not very dark. Although they were boarded up there was a lot of moonlight falling through the windows. She had of course also noticed that the corner Edie had retreated to was the darkest part of the room.

But even so the moonlight had sneaked closer to the girl and as it touched her naked foot Edie’s screams lost the last remains of coherency. It was horrible to watch, though a cold, second-row part of Riko’s mind remarked that it had to be much worse for Edie, to make her scream like that. Then Edie’s voice gave out, but their friend didn’t even notice and the silent scream made Riko shiver.

Edie’s head was lengthening, her body contorting messily, entangling her haphazardly in the blanket, then ripping it. Edie curled into herself and Riko hated the way her natural night-vision let her see the shuddering, jagged movements under the skin even as fur was suddenly sprouting over what had moments ago been pale, lightly freckled skin.

Riko stood transfixed as what had just been hands but were now clawed paws shot forward only to be drawn back just as quickly, leaving deep scratches in the floor. When the great, sharply curved teeth on the massive nuzzle that had just been Edie’s face sank into one of the forelegs with a sickening sound, then sent a terrible snarl their way, Riko at last managed to shake herself at least partly from her horror.

She took another step back, so as to still stand between her two friends and the wolf, reaching backwards for them on instinct. As soon as she touched them they both broke through their shock, Vi’s wand appearing in her hand. And then Amy proved beyond any shadow of doubt and forever just how brilliant, fantastic even, she really was.

The Gryffindor grabbed them and turned, dragging them straight at and then through the closest wall, to their left. And that although it took them, for a few terrible moments, _closer_ to where the massive wolf was snarling and looking ready to tear them and itself apart in a way that would certainly give them nightmares for years.

Then they were suddenly standing in feet deep snow, higher even than around Hogwarts, the air more freezing than, well, than Riko felt was reasonably possible. But the same went for the mangled sounds of pain and destruction just beyond the thin wall, so reasonably possible was obviously bollocks.

Riko leaned back numbly against the wall, taking a deep breath. She hadn’t even realized she’d held her breath until she felt the insides of her nose almost freeze. At least it wasn’t snowing any more. Instead the moon, as well as scores of stars, could be seen in the clear night sky. The full moon.

Ignoring the occasional trembling of the wall at her back, Riko forced herself to look calmly at her two friends, crossing her arms. They were both looking at her, obviously still in shock. The sounds behind her made her want to turn and do, well, something, _any_ thing, to stop her friend from gnawing herself to pieces.

But she owed her two friends before her more than just turning her back on them.

Amy’s face was pale, probably both with shock and the effort of dragging them through the wall, but her expression was clear. It was the face reserved for when she was completely concentrated on figuring through some tangle in her mind. Riko knew from experience she had very little chance to predict or influence the outcome in those instances.

Vi’s breathing was controlled and it was impossible to see what went on behind her impassive mask of indifference, the one Riko had long ago recognized as a defensive reflex. After a few moments she spoke and Riko could feel the weight of her words. Her friend had made her decision before speaking, but saying it out loud was the next step, was binding it.

“The books in our family library all say that werewolfs are horrible monsters..”

Amy looked up sharply at that, indignation sparking from her eyes, already drawing breath to argue, but Vi continued without seeming to notice, her eyes fixed on Riko.

“..but then, they’re the same books that say that muggles are pathetic beasts and muggleborns useless freaks.. not that it stops the family from doing business with any of them..”

The Hufflepuff girl crossed her arms and then both she and Amy said the same sentence, cutting right to the one thing that was important.

“This is Edie.”

Riko felt something come loose in her chest, hearing it said like that. She didn’t even try to stop her smile from spreading across her face, a tautness she hadn’t even noticed dissolving in the warmth that spread in her guts. And just with that they were back in the game.

“Right, Vi, was there anything useful in those books? Is there a way to stop her from.. from doing that?”

They moved to one of the nearby windows to look through the cracks of the boards. Riko could make out the form of the wolf, still roughly where Edie had cowered. It was rolling around, tearing itself apart, occasionally throwing itself against the wall or broken bits of furniture. She looked to Vi, hoping for some kind of hint, but her friend shook her head.

“Supposedly they ..will bite and .. attack themselves if they are without .. human prey, and are completely unable to control themselves, being nothing but slavering monsters..”

Vi shrugged, her face showing an annoyance that reminded Riko of that moment in Flourish and Blotts when they’d first met. The three of them shared a look, remembering only too clearly the scene as they stood frozen in front of the wolf and it started mauling itself.

“There’s got to be way to distract it.. her. We can’t just leave her to it like that!”

Riko and Vi nodded as Amy’s outburst. They had drawn closer to each other, standing huddled in a shivering group, and there was no mistaking the cause. As was usual for clear skies, the temperature had dropped significantly compared to the snowfall when they’d started out from the school. There was a light breeze that occasionally carried very fine, dry snow that was nothing but powdered ice when it came to it’s effect. They had their school robes over their normal clothes but no cloaks, coats, or jackets. Riko was still moving to take out her wand when Vi beat her to it, expertly casting warming charms on them all.

Then they set out to distract the wolf from itself by means of whisps, flying debris, and any other trick or cantrip they could come up with. It was gruelling, hard work, trying to keep the wolf from starting to maul and gouge itself again, interrupted by stretches of horror when nothing worked at all.

They worked in shifts, always one active, one acting as backup, watching for signs of the wolf losing interest, ready to start with something new or relieve the current front, and one making sure the warming charms were still active. They’d lost count of the number of rotations they’d been through when suddenly the wolf collapsed, thrashing and howling and rending itself with movements that grew increasingly feeble.

At last it curled up even more, spasming with pain, and then Riko shivered as the change reverted, leaving behind a shuddering, gasping Edie curled in a foetal ball of misery. They had watched with a sort of horrified urgency, too fatigued to quite realize they could let go of the duty that had held them here for hours. However, as Edie’s breath came in sharp, painful gasps, they unfroze, staggering.

Riko was sure neither she nor Hermione were in any shape to get them inside with their tricks so, instead, she stumbled along the wall, followed by her two friends, to find the normal, mundane way inside the house. The door was charmed locked, strongly so, but after the setback in Fluffy’s room Riko had continued working through Skobeloff’s book and a variant of the fourth unlocking spell she used did the trick.

When they reached her, Edie was lying very still. If it wasn’t for the occasional shuddering Riko would have worried she was dead. The girl had her eyes screwed shut, still curled up into herself. She didn’t acknowledge them until they dropped down around her and Riko tried to take stock of the injuries. When she touched her hand to draw out the arm the wolf had bitten first Edie flinched back as if burned, her eyes wide and fever-bright.

“You’re not real, you’re not here, you didn’t.. didn’t find out, you’re not real.. not real...”

Edie’s speech was slurred, her eyes leaking trails of tears, and as she started trembling again Amy held a hand lightly to her brow, shaking her head. Edie was delirious. Riko paused for just a fraction, mind tumbling, then answered amiably, iron self-control tightening inside her.

“Yep, that’s right, luv. Ye’re in a real bad shape though, fever, y’know, and we do feel all honoured ye dreamt us up..”

She gestured an elaborate bow, Vi and Amy belatedly making similar signs of appreciation, while Riko went on. “Thing is, now that we’re here, unreal or not, we’d like to help, you know, be a shame to be a useless fantasy, much better to have something to do...”

She trailed off, looking expectantly down at her glassy-eyed, shivering friend who was sufficiently distracted that she didn’t try to free the hand Riko had taken. She was rewarded with a broken smile that almost overwhelmed her.

“Tha’s sweet, just.. keep me company ..a bit ..should get ..upstairs .. Madam Pomfrey won’t come ..for a .. while..” Edie’s eyes drooped almost close as she took a few shuddering breaths. “...gets fussy f’I’m not.. n’bed.. ’s just ..so far.. cold, too..”

“..Right, then, you just rest a bit first, you can go up later..”

Keeping her voice light, Riko smiled down sadly at her friend, thanking all the gods Edie’s eyes were closing, certainly thanks to Amy’s soft stroking of her head. Her own eyes were that close to leaking but Riko took a deep breath, closed them, and focused on the hand in her own. She brushed outward only very lightly with her magic, immediately feeling the pained presence of her friend, barely above the horizon of awareness.

Taking great care, Riko nudged the weakly pulsing mind beside her ever so gently downwards, feeling it descend away from consciousness. She tried to get a feel of all that was wrong with her friend but she was exhausted and had no experience with healing anyone except herself. It was impossible to get an idea of how everything was supposed to be or even identify separate injuries. Returning herself to the reality of a very cold cottage, Riko opened her eyes, shivering.

“I think she’ll be out a bit, but I really can’t say a thing for sure.” Her voice was quiet and unsteady, bitter self-recriminations whizzing through her head. Hadn’t she wanted to try and do a magical analysis of all her friends, to get a benchmark? Why hadn’t she done it? Why hadn’t she ever thought of it again?

“We should get her upstairs, to whatever bed is supposed to be there.”

The sound of Vi’s steady crisis-voice almost breaking focused her again, enabling her to nod to her friend. The Hufflepuff was obviously as close to breaking down as she, and from the looks of it Amy was only saved from the same by being utterly focused on how best to help.

Not knowing just what injuries their friend suffered, they refrained from carrying her up manually, though Riko saw in them all the same urge to just cradle Edie close in their arms. Amy cast Wingardium Leviosa, Riko concentrated her normal magic on stabilising the movement of Edie’s body, and Vi took point, scouting up the stairs.

There was only one door that wasn’t open and Vi headed straight for it. It led to a clean room with a magnificent four-poster, looking like it had come straight from Hogwarts. On it was a bundle that turned out to be blankets and Edie’s pyjamas. Lacking better ideas they laid the pyjamas to the side and gently wrapped her in the blankets after carefully checking her injuries as far as they knew how.

There were numerous deep scratches, bites, and tears, but they weren’t actively bleeding, only lightly oozing, and thankfully they didn’t see any obvious signs of broken bones. Even so it was a horrible feeling to sit on the bed and watch Edie occasionally twitch or whimper, unable to do anything about it.

They’d checked through the room, but there was nothing useful like bandages or any kind of helpful potion, be it for healing or against pain. The only vaguely helpful thing they came up with was to cast a warming charm on the blanket. Trying to process the situation was as much a distraction from the current, unacceptable situation as a necessity in itself. Riko didn’t know much about werewolves but those she knew of were not like Edie. Perhaps it was a local thing. Either way, from what Vi had said she could already guess part of the situation.

If werewolfs were considered vicious monsters then Edie would never be allowed to stay at Hogwarts if she was found out. Perhaps someone would even try to punish her. Distractedly Riko wondered who knew. Madam Pomfrey, obviously, and most likely the headmaster, as it was his school, and probably Professor Flitwick, being her head of house.

The hushed silence as they all sat on the giant bed and Riko’s fruitless brooding was interrupted by Amy’s quiet, hesitant voice.

“..so, there really are werewolfs.. I mean Hagrid said, but..” she was fingering the edges of the loose bedspread. She tried a weak grin. “..well, figures, I am a witch, after all... it’s just.. I wouldn’t ’ve thought it’d be ..like that..”

There was an uncomfortable silence as she trailed off.

“Me neither...” Vi was also looking down at her hands. “I mean, they’re classified Dark Creatures, ’cause they’re so dangerous and not affected by lots of dark spells and all, and.. I told you what the books say about them. That they’re always stalking prey and stuff..”

Her hands were twisted into each other, gripping so tightly her knuckles were white and she was biting her lips. “See, they also aren’t affected by lots of harmful stuff, they’re real tough and very hard to.. kill..”

She looked slightly grey as she said it, connecting the idea of werewolfs being killed to Edie.

“Well..” Riko tugged a streak of her hair behind her ear, quickly wetting her lips. “This _is_ Edie..” Given their situation, she was quite proud she was able to tap into her ‘sensible voice’.

“I know that.” said Vi evenly.

“Edie doesn’t stalk.” Riko felt this had to be pointed out, even though she knew Vi would as soon turn against Edie as she would become friends with her rotten cousins, “..and about that ‘craving for prey’-thing.. we were all there, we saw how she..” Riko gestured uneasily. She didn’t feel like describing it, it had been enough watching it, once.

The others nodded, glumly, all of them feeling responsible. Obviously what was written in the books was either wrong or not helpful, or even both. Perhaps, if they hadn’t shown up..

“Well, Edie’d never want to hurt us!” stated Amy defiantly. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

They all stared glumly ahead for a few more moments.

“At least she’ll be already in bed when Madam P.. shows up..” Vi had trailed off, as they all realized as one that the hatch downstairs was still open.

After sharing a moment of frozen horror they bolted downstairs, half expecting to be met with a furious mediwitch. Everything was still and quiet and completely deserted. With some difficulty they heaved the hatch shut, careful to lower it’s lid slowly and quietly.

Reminded of the fact they were not supposed to be here Riko fell back into her mindset of professional paranoia. There was little to do to hide their presence. Though it was a dusty, musty place it wasn’t bad enough for them to leave actual foot prints. They had dragged some snow inside but even in here it was so cold that it hadn’t melted and removing their traces wasn’t hard.

Riko relocked the door, going so far as to stack a number of locking charms, with some modifications of her own she’d wanted to try out anyway. Then she became aware of Vi and Amy hovering, looking at her expectantly. Realizing she had indeed wanted to avoid going upstairs she gave them an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to get carried away.. Oh, but we should put something on the hatch, so that we know when Madam Pomfrey is here.”

It was just a simple little cantrip, though it required some finesse in correct placement. Riko trailed just the slightest threat of power across the side crack of the hatch, anchoring it there without bothering to severe the link to herself. This way, as soon as the little bridge was broken she’d know.

Vi had looked at her thoughtfully before casting a subtle charm of her own on the hatch as well, one that Riko didn’t recognize. They shared a short look over it, recognizing the mutual wish to compare notes, at some better time. Amy was looking impatient but Riko had no doubt the Gryffindor girl would accost them soon enough to learn what spells they had used.

Still, they were much relaxed as they made their way back upstairs and into the bedroom. Riko was already itching with curiosity and the urge to explore the rest of the house, just at a better time. If asked, she would explain they had been very tired and distracted by the small but much-needed glow of accomplishment from clearing the downstairs-situation. Otherwise they surely would have noticed Edie was awake before being already well into the room, before a strained gasp made them all freeze, before being speared in place by wide, panicked amber eyes.

It wasn’t that Riko had had any time to make a plan, but in that second she remembered very clearly the last words she had said to her friend. And she’d had a little, well, actually a lot of time, over the course of the night, to curse herself for her choice of words. Before their friend could even start to break apart again, Riko had flung herself on her knees beside the bed and grabbed Edie’s hands.

“Oh, Edie, I’m so, so sorry, I’m such an ass, please forgive me, I’m begging you, please! I know you’d never eat us, that was a stupid, bloody idiotic thing to say, I’m so not funny it’s painful, I know, and I’m so very sorry so please, please, please forgive me..”

At first, Edie had flinched back as if to draw away her hands, but Riko’s outburst seemed to derail her, very good that, and also befuddle her utterly. As if this was so outside anything she might have expected that she didn’t quite know how to react. Or perhaps Riko was just that bedazzling, but somehow she thought it had to be at least a combination of the two.

“You.. but.. I’m..” she rasped, and looked just about ready to faint again. Her eyes were darting between Riko and Amy and Vi, who had moved to the bed as well.

She looked so scared it was painful. Obviously necessary to tone it down a little, Riko didn’t care to be responsible for overtaxing her friend so that she fainted, and also it was obviously one of the times to be very clear and firm with their habitually sceptical Ravenclaw.

“Ah, yeah, about that?” Riko made a negligent gesture with one hand. “Just don’t worry about it any more, alright? We don’t care you’re a werewolf, so please just relax.” She made sure to speak very clearly and slowly, hoping that Edie could see and hear the sincerity in her face and voice.

Edie stared, dumbfounded and frozen, as if afraid to believe or perhaps expecting to blink and find it was all a dream.

“Yeah, you better believe it, and we’re not hallucinations either, though we’re right honoured you’d dream up us of all people...”

“Anyway, obviously the books on werewolfs are complete rubbish, and anyone who wants to bother you about it will just have to go through us first!”

Vi and Amy had sat on the bed on either side of Riko, laying their hands on top of Edie’s. Vi’s dry comment and Amy’s characteristic vehemence, both combined with warm smiles, seemed to slowly crack through Edie’s shell of shock. She took a deep, shuddering breath, still looking lost and unsure, opening her mouth and closing it again.

“Now, this is no time to play carp, Edie-dear. What you have to do now is relax and get it in your head that we’re not gonna freak out on you, so you don’t need to, either. Alright?” Riko thought it a mark of remarkable progress when Edie numbly nodded, though the girl still looked like she wasn’t quite sure if this was real.

It was enough to set Riko back into manic-energy territory. Or perhaps that was the nerves and being awake for the entire night, but really, who cared? “Fantastic!” she said, “Now, do you want anything to drink? I could melt you some snow, sorry for the shoddy service, I’ll make it up to you later!”

“Are you warm enough? I can recast the warming charm, just have to banish it as soon as Madam Pomfrey shows up, sorry but I don’t know any real healing charms, I don’t think trying Cutisarcio would work well here..”

“..and would you mind terribly if we climbed in with you? We’re all kinda knackered, you know, and if you’re not too tired you could tell us the trick for freezing the Womping Willow. Or just sleep, because you look like you could really need some rest.”

Vi finished with a stern look, but it didn’t hide the worry in her tone. It seemed to unfreeze Edie as a weak shadow of her usual reassuring smile showed on her face. Perhaps the habitual response to a friend worrying helped her regain some equilibrium, it was after all part of her usual occupation according to their common modus operandi.

“Sure, ’f course.” Edie settled back with painful slowness and gestured weakly for them to join her. “There ought to be some water in the bedside locker.. and yes, please, Amy, warming charm would be great..”

The three of them shared a triumphant grin. One step further to normal Edie, accomplished. Riko wasn’t quite sure but she thought she saw a Edie’s face relax just a little at the way they appreciated their success in handling her. But she still looked miserable, so, despite almost bursting with pride about calming her, they immediately jumped into action.

Vi cast a warming charm to soak into the blanket and Amy cast her own version of the personal warming charm on Edie directly. Riko sat back and turned to look into the bedside locker. Right, now she remembered, inside was indeed a jug of water and a small cup, both made of wood. She filled the cup and helped a fussy, weak-yet-stubborn Edie drink.

In no time they were all gathered on the bed, Edie both lucid and calm though obviously not at all well. Vi and Amy were on either side of her so Riko, last to climb in, settled into a cross-legged hunch, facing them. Edie was obviously exhausted but stubbornly kept her eyes open even as she was leaning back against the cushions.

“Just don’t fall asleep here, Madam Pomfrey would die of a heart attack..” Seeing their looks she rolled her eyes. “I’ll sleep, alright, but about the Willow.. you have to press a knob on the trunk.. upper roots.. it’s just to the left, going in.. you really can’t miss it.. Madam Pomfrey will be here soon.. you should..”

“Yes-yes, but you don’t need to worry bout that, Edie. We got warnings on the hatch so you just relax. You want some more water?” Riko felt it was best to keep distracting Edie, less she start working herself in a snit of worry again. Edie’s level look made clear she saw through this plan but she nodded tiredly.

When she’d settled back again, Edie’s eyes were already drooping heavily. The warmth and tangible presence of her friends did seem to relax her enough to let her to drift off to sleep. For the other three it wasn’t quite as easy. Although it was much better than standing in the snow to peek through a boarded up window, they had to be careful not to put any pressure on Edie’s injuries, which was just one thing that made it difficult to relax. Riko was almost relieved when she felt the warning she had put on the hatch trigger.

They had all been drowsing but when both Vi and Riko suddenly tensed and started to rise Amy was up in seconds without having to be woken. Hurriedly, they worked together, Amy banishing the warming charms with a regretful look, Riko linking them and drawing up her Obscurantis, and Vi adjusting her Leniped silencer to include a measure of room around their feet. There were just too damn many creaking floorboards in this house.

They had just finished when the door was pushed open by Madam Pomfrey with a loud creak. The mediwitch looked with a look of sad sympathy over Edie, who was starting to shiver lightly, her sleep growing disquiet. She hadn’t closed the door, having quickly moved to the bed to get a good look at the girl and cast an examining charm, putting a leather doctor’s satchel down with a few light clinks of potion vials.

They quickly headed into the hallway and were immediately glad for it when Madam Pomfrey closed the door, mumbling about drafts. They were silent on their hurried way back. They didn’t know how long Madam Pomfrey would be busy with Edie, after all. The hatch had been left open and once they were down in the tunnel Riko willed up a small witchlight to lead the way. Nobody commented on it.

When they came to the end of the tunnel Riko was surprised to see the slide was gone. Instead there was a stair made of packed earth. They paused before it but then continued on, silently agreeing with a glance to take a closer look at it at some other time. Riko was the first to push her head out of the hole, looking around warily. The tree had already noticed her and was starting to move it’s branches, still slow but already gaining speed.

Hastily, she tried a few knobs before finding the right one and then scrambled out, keeping a hold of it so that Amy and Vi could follow without worry. “Gogogo!”

At her whisper the two hurried up and she waved so they’d clear the dangerous area. Then she hurried to join them, glad the effect seemed to persist at least a few seconds. As they all looked around bewildered, Riko took stock of the situation.

There was just the barest hint of light sneaking into the sky in the east and it was insanely cold. They had of course left footprints in the snow, but with the Willow wildly bashing about and the silently dancing breeze, making them shiver and the light powdery snow wander, Riko didn’t worry about it.

Just to be on the safe side they walked in the vague trail Madam Pomfrey had left, breaking off only when they were almost at the main entrance, where the snow wasn’t as high and also in constnt movement. Riko led the way to the side entrance near the winding chair that led to the third floor.

They were by now all shivering despite the warming charms and currently without the protection of Obscurantis. Seeing the door woke her professional paranoia and before she opened it, Riko leaned against it tiredly, focussing enough to check for any echoes on the other side.

Only then did she start to push the heavy wood open and they stumbled into the quiet warmth of the corridor. It was as if the change of scenery reminded them just how very tired they were. Instead of tensing against the cold wind, the slight relaxation of the still and warm air made them shiver with exhaustion. Still, somehow they couldn’t get themselves to part.

When Riko huffed a small, tired laugh and then shushed them with an exaggerated finger on her lips, sneaking towards the small, secret lift, Vi and Amy followed without comment. In no time at all they collapsed in a comfortable, warm heap of familiar limbs on their couch, in their room. They were out in seconds, but even so they reflexively shifted and stirred in their sleep, as if trying to adjust for one set of limbs that was missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, in case anyone is reading this at all, I'd really be curious when you knew what was up with Edie? I keep thinking I made it all far too obvious from practically the start, aka from her introduction, but I'd like to hear a view from a reader who didn't know beforehand.. =)


	14. And A Very Mental Yule To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all as it should be: careful niceties, a train ride, enjoying sweets and trinkets from stalls, and a blizzard for the way home =)

They woke bleary-eyed and, judging from the light, well past lunch. They were also dishevelled and not exactly well-rested, trying to loosen knots and crinks that were the tribute to falling asleep on a couch, even a very comfortable one.

Never had Riko been more annoyed they were all in different houses. Going to take a nice, warm shower before visiting Edie would have been the very best thing to do, but with the situation as it was the logistics of it were just too bloody bothersome. Well. It would just have to wait until evening. Her two friends seemed to come to the same conclusion and they made their way to the kitchen where they first apologized for deserting the last basket.

Finny didn’t seem to mind and, after some serious scrutiny, instructed a new basket to be filled with the leftovers of the stew from lunch and rolls and butter and shortbread and tea and gingernewts and cheese and fruit. She would have kept putting in even more if Riko hadn’t politely stepped in and taken hold of the already straining basket, lifting it with a groan.

Instead the house elf shot them another look, rather more warm, and commented with a knowing nod. “You haven’t been eating, we house elves know, and it needs be enough for your friend, too.”

“Err, yes, thank you very much for that..” Riko bowed again, somehow, in all of this, hardly surprised at the house elves’ insight.

Having learned her lesson on her first errand, Riko made sure to check the coast was clear before they stepped back into the corridor and headed for the hospital wing. The door was open and they could hear Madam Pomfrey talk with Hagrid in her office, they seemed to be having tea. Usually Riko would have been overcome with curiosity, but now they had Edie to look after.

They snuck by the door to the office, discarding the Obscurantis only when they were past the screens that shielded Edie’s bed. Their friend was looking about as miserable and wrapped up as usual in such cases, her birthday gifts from yesterday still lying on her bedside table. She opened her eyes when they came closer, not so much surprised as disbelieving and tense.

This didn’t change in the time they spent with her all afternoon, playing cards, dice and stories, and just lazing around. She acted pretty much like their normal Edie but she was obviously unsettled and completely unwilling to discuss anything about the events of last night. Riko went along with ignoring the whole issue for now, not wanting to upset her friend, and Amy and Vi took their cue from her, but even so it was obvious they would have to clear the air between them.

When it was after dinner, Madam Pomfrey came over to shoo them out, telling them her patient needed to rest and they could likely collect her tomorrow after breakfast. Edie gave them a weak, slightly tense goodbye; she probably wouldn’t appreciate being visited by any sneaking figures tonight. Then, at last, it felt alright to head to their own houses, each of them surrounded with an Obscurantis of their own and their own thoughts for company.

It was tedious, handling and avoiding the varyingly subtle enquiries from her roommates, but at least none of the prefects appeared to have noticed or cared about her absence last night. Riko hoped a good night’s sleep would set everything to rights, but at least for Edie this didn’t seem to work. At all. Perhaps even the opposite.

As they whiled the Sunday away in the library, Edie was increasingly quiet and distant while still trying to act her usual self. It was terribly frustrating, but confronting her was clearly not on, with how fragile she still obviously was. In the evening, during a long, hot shower and then activating the bath tub charm to properly soak, Riko let her thoughts run freely through her head and the raising steam.

Something had to be done, clearly, who knew what silly ideas Edie might develop at home, perhaps she wouldn’t even return, fleeing to Antarctica or who knew where. This constant dancing around each other was a right bother. It was a little like, but also much worse than, in those first weeks when they had hung around each other a lot, and had a lot of fun, too, but also observed each other closely, just a little warily.

Riko had admittedly observed not only her new friends but everything and everyone to find the best way to adapt her own behaviour to whatever was considered normal here. The other three surely had their own reasons for their watchful observing.

Amy had after all been completely new to the whole experience, be it boarding school, being a witch, or perhaps even having such crazy friends. She’d been much more prone to break off into shyness then, like that time she’d taken ages to ask about why everyone was calling Voldemort You-Know-Who.

Edie had always been quietly watchful and observant anyway, which made even more sense now, considering her problem, and Vi had mostly studied Amy and Edie, patiently, just watching, as if collecting intel, though there had been a number of disbelieving and amused looks in Riko’s direction, too.

In combination with what she now knew of Vi and her family, Riko thought it might have been a way of judging what her friend had been taught against reality as it presented itself. Quite understandably, she probably hadn’t met any not-approved people before, as Riko had learned was the case with Draco and Tony. Probably most of the purebloods and even many of the mixed-bloods, too.

They had their hidden estates or houses, and tutors and approved, appropriate company, often related in some way or another, which was just one reason why _Nature’s Nobility_ was a book many had been learning to read with. Family was ally was business. Small wonder they were wary of muggleborns, who were in no way related and about which they didn’t really know anything and couldn’t even look stuff up.

Not that Riko thought that very smart or good form, but deduced like that it was understandable, in this very network-based society, and there was little she could do about it so she just had to deal, which was at least not very hard. Having no official allies also meant not owing favours, and her scouting (and belated reading) had after all shown rather quickly which family names and connections carried weight where and when, no matter her lack of participation, especially with Draco being so unsubtle about his perceived superiority.

Not that he or anyone else treated the half-borns or rare muggleborns of their house like Cynthia badly, as such, openly. But they were expected to prove themselves for their status where those like Draco or Tony weren’t, had to play for favours that otherwise came with your family name. And of course that went only for proper company, didn’t extend to other muggleborns or supposed blood-traitors or disfavoured families not in their house and not properly trying to adapt to their ever-so-great traditions and values.

With that sort of behaviour, and the abominable way of thinking Vi had cited on werewolfs, considered normal it was no wonder the Hufflepuff had wanted to get some clear intel. In a pang of memory Riko remembered Da joking about inbreeding as one of the main causes of not just weak chins but, even worse, accumulative stuffiness, and promptly sighed from a strange exhaustion.

Soaking helped her calm but it also made her tired and distracted. Yesterday she’d found a band of painful, dark grey coloured skin on each of her upper arms. It really looked like a normal bruise, just the colour was wrong and it didn’t fade towards the edges. Touching them cautiously now, the sensation was still similar to flesh that had been very cold and now hurt as it was warming. Just weird.

When she’d tried to get a better idea of it by focusing on her magic and letting it wander her body it didn’t seem different to how a normal bruise was perceived. By now it’d already faded a bit, so, with a shrug, Riko slid lower into the water, until only her nose peaked out, enjoying, just for a bit, the drowsy absence of any separate thoughts.

“Oi, are you trying to drown yourself, or what?” Antonia’s comment made Riko slip down with surprise, which sent her to sputtering out bath water.

“Sheesh, Tony, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

Riko’s heart was beating a mile a minute, adrenaline pounding through her system. It was an effort to remain lying down in the warm water, only brushing her wet hair from her face and taking care to not show her upper arms.

“Heh, nice to see you getting surprised once in a while...” the girl replied, unruffled and with a smirk. “Anyway, I didn’t catch you before and I got tired of waiting for you to finish whatever water-based experiments you are getting up to. See, I want to catch some sleep, the train leaves early tomorrow, and I want to know if you’ll be coming, too. You never really said, real subtle, dear..”

Riko stared at her for a moment while her thoughts caught up to Tony’s words, then jumped forward and to the side. Then she grinned, suddenly in high spirits again. It was all she could do to stop herself from laughing maniacally.

“Gods, you’re fantastic, Tony, you know that? Yup, ’f course I’ll be on the train, but I’ll be sitting with my mixed crowd.” Blinking, she gave the other girl a lazy smile, “Say, why d’you even want to know..?”

Tony answered with a sweet smile that in no way even tried to hide her mischievous nature. “Oh, you know how curious I am.. and I might sort of have a bet with Draco, I’d find out first.”

Riko didn’t try to stifle the short laugh that bubbled up at that, while Tony grinned proudly. Then she gave Riko a thoughtful look again.

“Now, I already know I’m brilliant but I’m curious as to how my accosting you in the bath has made you aware of that fact?” Tony looked like nothing so much as a cat just feet away from a bowl of cream, it was just too cute.

Riko only grinned back gleefully, her good mood filling her with the sort of giddy energy she had missed the last two days. “You gave me an idea, dearest lady of brilliance, a fantastic idea, oh, the fun this will bring.. well, not to you.. heh, water-based experiment indeed, consider this a success...”

She couldn’t stop herself from cackling then, perhaps even a little crazily. Tony clearly realized she wouldn’t get any more out of her but didn’t let it disturb her good mood. By now their relationship fluctuated between cordial practicality and practical cordiality, their deals involving mostly notes of the more boring subjects and pieces of on-going rumours.

It meant Tony did sometimes leave off her curiosity, if she felt reasonably sure it wasn’t related to any of her direct interests. Like now. She gave Riko what could only be described as an indulgent smile and left with a friendly wave. Riko, meanwhile, hurried to finish up quickly and then sent Korra with an urgent message to Vi, telling the raven to wake the other girl if necessary.

While she waited for the reply, Riko packed a few things into her rucksack, laid out her clothes for the next day and chatted amiably with the other girls, who were all going home over the holidays.

When Korra arrived back with an answer that made Riko’s smile grow even larger, the others had already dosed their candles. She gave the raven a handful of special treats and scratched her between the wings before killing her own light, falling asleep with a satisfied smile.

*

The look on Edie’s face was quite as satisfying as Riko had hoped and Amy seemed equally flabbergasted when Riko and Vi opened the door to their compartment with a bow and flourish. It was all she could do to close it again before she started laughing until she had to put her hands on her knees to breathe, Vi leaning against the door jamb and radiating proud amusement.

Both Vi and Riko had been in a fantastic mood at breakfast, which had helped ease the atmosphere between the four of them somewhat, thawing both Amy’s and Edie’s pensive manner a little. Then they had of course escorted them to the gate, where they had hugged them heartily and watched them enter one of the big coach-sledges that were drawn by huge, winged horselike beings.

The creatures looked oddly skeletal, as if they had no flesh under their sleek black coats, and their heads were slightly reptilian, with big, pupil-less eyes that were an eerie, beautiful shining white. Riko had been impressed and curious but they had no time to waste, moving quickly to enter another of the coach-sledges unnoticed and then sneak onto the train without being detected.

Riko had cast a little trace on Amy, well, on her cap, and it seemed their arrival was quite well-timed. Even through her mirth Riko could see that both Amy and Edie would have likely just sat in the compartment, reading, an ever-growing silence between them. Much better this way. She really should get Tony a little present, just for giving her the idea.

“Oh ye gods, if you could see your faces, dear Loki, this is brilliant, I can’t even describe it...” Riko almost started laughing again, but managed to hold it in.

At that both Edie and Amy looked like they wanted to give her a piece of their mind, very good, so Riko shushed them exaggeratedly, waving her hands and giving them an intense look. Vi carefully opened the door, to check if the corridor was empty, and then obscured their compartment.

Neither Amy nor Edie had thought of that, nor checked for traces, so clearly Riko’s worries had been entirely warranted. After Vi had closed the door Riko jumped into the seat beside Edie with a grin, Vi settling beside Amy after she’d cast Scutum Strepiti on the door. Riko leaned forward with excitement.

“See, we got it all planned out! This way we can entertain you on the obviously otherwise deadly boring train ride, we get to meet your people, and if we play it right we can even get invited to visit you over the hols, watch the Princess Bride like we planned and all that...”

“But how will you get back?” Amy burst out, “It’ll already be late afternoon when we arrive in London! Even if the train would start back immediately it would take far too long, you’ll be caught for sure!”

“Oh, hush, I said we had it all planned out,” Riko grinned widely while Vi tolerantly rolled her eyes at Riko’s performance. Much of their plan was owed to the Hufflepuff’s knowledge, but Vi seemed content to remain in the background. Well, Riko could respect that. “See, we just take the tube to the Leaky Cauldron, should even have time to perhaps buy something in Diagon, then we floo to a pub in Hogsmeade, The Three Broomsticks it’s called, and then we’re almost in Hogwarts already. No problem at all.”

“Oh. OH. I’d read a bit about Hogsmeade, it’s one of the few entirely wizarding settlements. I didn’t know it’s that close to Hogwarts. Honestly, the name should’ve been a hint..” Amy gave an embarrassed smile, shoving at her hair. “But what do you mean, floo?”

For a moment there it seemed as if time shifted back to their first meeting, on this very train, as Edie leaned forward and started to explain the basics of the floo network, Vi outlining it’s various uses. Then they both added little snippets about it’s history from different perspectives. The powder and charms necessary to connect fires and travel between had been developed by a Slytherin witch who’d been keen on travelling but didn’t want to miss her lover while on the road.

It had taken quite a while until it had come into more widespread use and the research necessary to permanently build a network and such had come much later, by very different contributors. Both Amy and Riko were listening with keen interest, asking questions, never letting the conversation really end, just directing it towards other subjects. Distracted by their entertaining talk Edie relaxed, Riko could tell. It was a good first step.

“So that means if we want to watch the Princess Bride we’d have to do it at your place, right, Edie? It doesn’t seem that easy to get your fireplace hooked up to the network when you’re a muggle household, even if you have a witch in the family, and anyway, it’d certainly take longer than the holidays until someone from the Ministry gets around to doing it.” Absently gathering some stray hair behind her ear, she shot Amy a grin. “Oh, I mean, do you even have a fireplace? It’s not really standard any more, right?”

Amy made a mock-outraged face. “Course we do, and we have a really great garden, too! We’re not complete barbarians I’ll have you know. I hereby officially invite you to come by, I’ll show you alright!”

They all shared a short laugh at that, the mood in the compartment unwinding even further. Then Edie started to cry. At first Riko thought the girl was going to sneeze, from the way Edie’s breath suddenly hitched and she bent over, hands going to her face. Then she realized that her friend’s cheeks were wet.

“..Edie...” Riko didn’t know what to say and a look to Amy and Vi revealed the same helplessness. Hesitantly she put her hand on Edie’s shoulders as they started to shake.

She was a little afraid that Edie would take badly to it, but the girl gave no resistance, after a tense moment allowing Riko to draw her closer and gather her in her arms. Edie’s small frame shook with great, heaving sobs and Riko pushed rudely past her own shock to slowly rub her friend’s back.

It must have been a long way in coming, this breakdown, certainly more than the few days since the full moon, at least if she was any judge of character of her friend. Edie was always so very intent on self-control and rationality, and, well, Riko thought she had a rather better understanding of why, now. The way her friend was trembling she had exhausted herself trying to keep it all in and now it was just too much.

“Shh, it’s alright... just let it all out.. it’ll be fine.. shh, just get it out of your system.. we’re here..” Something coiled painfully tight in her chest as she held her friend, muttering stupid phrases and unable to do anything to actually help her.

Riko was feeling helpless and useless and she hated that, always had. She was weak with relief when Amy slipped in the place Edie had all but vacated, hugging the girl from the other side while Vi bowed down to do the same from the front. It was very much like having her back guarded in a fight and Riko felt much better and more competent immediately.

Long minutes passed while they clung together until Edie’s sobs finally subsided into a weak hiccup. “I – I’m sorry,” she sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “I – uhm, anyone got a handkerchief or something?”

Vi reached into her robes with a rare gentle smile that would have probably surprised anyone who wasn’t in the compartment. After wiping her face and then loudly blowing her nose Edie seemed too exhausted to be difficult and accepted the tea from the thermos when it was handed to her. Riko noted her friend starting to blush as she drank her tea and hurried to reassure her, not wanting repeat of the last two days.

“So, feeling better? We have some sandwiches as well, from the house elves, and we won’t get anything from the trolley because she won’t even notice us, so I brought some sweets, too. Er..”, Riko trailed off for a moment, remembering what had happened last time she’d let her mouth get away from her and made an effort to be rational instead of babbling on.

She took a breath. Ignoring the ogre in the background hadn’t worked, so being direct might to be a good thing to try. “It’s good to let it out, sometimes, you know, when it’s just all too much..” she faltered under weight of the intense focus Edie was directing at her.

“You’re still.. I mean, you still want to..” Edie gestured weakly, looking at once hopeful and scared.

“Of course we’re still you friends, we already told you! You’re getting as bad as Riko was..” Amy gave them both a gently teasing smile. Keeping it light, brilliant!

“Yeah, y’know there’s no getting rid of us. You better believe it now and save us all, including you, the trouble.” Vi added her usual dry comment, but paired with the warm grin her meaning was clear.

And at long bloody last Edie actually seemed to get it. She gave a weak, relieved laugh, almost a huff of disbelief, but the smile that was slowly growing on her face was easy to read.

“Well,” she said after a few moments and gave weak little shrug, “I knew you’re all crazy, so I apologize for being quite that slow. It’s just.. surprising..”

Riko thought that had to be the understatement of the century as regards their friend, but she refrained heroically from rolling her eyes.

She’d read up a little about what her own Defence book said on the topic of werewolves when she couldn’t sleep the night after the full moon, and recalling the stories Draco and Tony had brought up after she’d told them about their visit to the Forbidden Forest, not to even think on whatever books Vi had read, well, Riko thought she was getting an idea of what Edie could or would face, or already had to face. It had made her so blood-curdlingly, coldly mad she’d hardly managed falling asleep ever since, despite how knackered she’d been.

“Eh, that’s alright,” Riko waved it away, “I’m just glad you got it in your head without us having to resort to desperate measures.” She winked then gathered some stray hair behind her ear. “So, now that’s cleared up, you know we’re all about as curious as a sack full o’cats, on a good day, but if it’s a bother, we won’t ah, bother you with it. About your err, satellite state.”

She thought she’d been quite good about it but Edie’s amused look told her she hadn’t really managed to keep her voice free of her inquisitive nature. Amy and Vi, who had sat down beside Riko, snorted but they didn’t manage to look innocent, either. And then Edie laughed, a real, honest, happy, and brightly infectious laugh, still tinged with traces wonder and relief.

Clearly they had been missing out quite a lot, before, but Riko felt only honoured and glad that from now on they’d have the real, complete Edie. For a second she wondered, the parallels a little too close for comfort, if maybe she owed them the real, complete Riko, too, now, after they had more or less forced Edie into it. But it was only a moment, then she knew it would be a bad idea.

For one, to throw this on top of everything, right now and here, would be unkind and probably not just ruin their mood but also their entire holidays. This day, this entire situation, was for Edie, not for Riko to dump her private stuff in. And besides, her entire problem was nowhere near as relevant and she knew perfectly well how to handle it and it would be just a few years anyway.

Meanwhile Edie, positively shining with her usual understated brand of mirth, drew some stray hair behind her ear and smiled with a shrug.

“No, I don’t mind you asking, not really.” She seemed to gather herself, clearing her throat. “It’s just, no one ever asked me, before. I mean, my family, they always ask if I’m hurt, if I’m tired, that sort of thing, but they never talk about it, to me. I mean, they explained it to me, yes, but other than that..”, she shrugged again, almost apologetic.

“..explained? Er, Edie, how old were you, when you were.. infected..?” It seemed Amy had read up a little, too. Well, hardly surprising, that.

“I was six..” Edie bit her lip. “I had.. I had another brother, Marlon, Leon, we always said, he was three years older, and we were out by the hedge at the stables and.. when I was in St. Mungos I heard someone say he was the lucky one. They thought I was still asleep, see, and at first I thought that meant he was ok..”

She shrugged again at their shocked silence.

“I don’t think so, and I’m sure Leon’d agree with me. See, my family, they always try their best to keep me up and running. They don’t treat me like I’m a freak or diseased or some poor victim. I’m not, after all. It’s just, because of that I don’t think they like to talk about it to me, about what’s it like, and I don’t like them to worry, so..” she shrugged yet again, as if embarrassed.

“So, ah, what is it like, if you don’t mind me asking, that is?” Even if Edie seemed fine with it and she very, very curious, Riko was still a little reluctant to pry.

“Well, first, when the full moon is very close, my senses become very sensitive, specially hearing and smell, which can be really unpleasant sometimes. And then, when I change, it, well, it hurts like anything. Which makes sense, I suppose,” she sent them an apologetic look but although horrified they were hanging to her every word.

“Well, most of my bones shift and change or break and reknit, and tendons and stuff have to stretch or move along. Human bones are after all different from a wolf, and my organs sort of move around and change as well. Then there’s of course the fur which also hurts when it just pushes through the skin.”

Edie blushed and smiled embarrassedly at her hands, the contrast between her adorableness and the subject almost breaking Riko’s mind as her friend continued, “I used to wonder where it went, you know, when I wasn’t a wolf, until Lea explained it to me, that it just forms where it wants but starts with the roots, which are of course under the skin, and that’s why it hurts so much. Well, she didn’t say that, as such, then, but..”

She smiled reassuringly as they shyly placed their hands on her arm and shoulders, as if it wasn’t she who had to go though all that every single month. Since she was six! Riko felt like there were needles in her limbs, when she thought of it.

“Then, when I’m changed, it’s not even all that bad. I mean, it’s not great of course, because I can’t just do what I want, it’s like, well, a little like a book I once read where there was more than one spirit in one body, and they always had to fight over who got to be in charge. I always start out in the back seat, or the boot, even, so to speak, and I’ve never managed to get to be the driver, ’s hard enough to stay sort-of-awake and I don’t really remember what happens during, not rightly, bit like a dream.”

Leaning forward she smiled proudly. “So, it’s very uh.. strange, alien even, but when I push, I can sort of steer, a bit, which of the things it wants it will do, at least sometimes. It always wants to destroy something, anything really, so as long as there is something around I can try and push it towards, it will keep itself busy and not start hurting itself, or me, whatever. It does have things it hates more than others, itself is pretty far up on the list, but I’m kinda stubborn, too.”

“Merlin’s grubby staff! I always thought Riko was the most insanely stubborn person in this world but this takes the cake! You can actually push your inner demon around!” The uncommonly serious and appreciative comment of Vi drew a shyly pleased smile from Edie, making her look nothing so much like when she successfully explained a trick for understanding Transfiguration.

“Well, not quite, see, I ah, heh, I read all about it,” she winked at Amy, who blushed just a little but smiled back. “Soon as I could, lycanthrophy in it’s different forms. Seems I got infected with the one that has some roots in the legends of the Loup-garou, a sort of curse of possession, and it has features of transmogrification, but it’s transferred by entering the blood, like some diseases, and it’s all very complex. But the thing is, I also have some hereditary ballast in the area.”

She looked at them, as if asking for permission or afraid she was boring them and they all nodded encouragingly, intensely curious. “My Granddad was what is sometimes referred to as a classic werewolf, which means that a human, including muggles, can transform into a wolf, whenever they want. It’s sometimes triggered by surviving a wolf attack, but sometimes it can even happen without wolves being anywhere in the vicinity.”

Gestured absently, vaguely, she continued. “It’s mostly a thing in the Americas, I think, and really rural regions on the continent and even then it’s really rare. What little there is to read about it sounds all very spiritual, like, you have to understand yourself and the self and the spirit of the wolf and understand the world like a wolf and stuff like that..”

Edie grinned easily, while Riko could almost feel an idea forming in her head. Then it was gone, chased away by the distraction of Edie taking a deep breath. It seemed talking about all these things she had kept to herself was doing their friend good, which made Riko glad.

“So, that’s my layman’s theory, anyway, that I still have some remains of that wolf-ness in me, and it just makes it easier for me to push, because the ratio of demon to wolf is different, more wolf than is the case usually, which is easier to handle for a human mind, or something like that.” At their impressed looks, she smiled shyly, becoming even more of the shy scholar she sometimes showed.

“I even have some evidence for it, or leads, more like. Mama and Lea, and Kean, too, have really keen senses, and see pretty well in the dark, not like me but better than usual, and they always get real antsy around the full moon, even without that thing about me. Papa used to joke about it, before, and Lea did, too, her friend Dani even said so when she visited over the summer once. And Oma always says ‘just like Rafi’, Opa’s name was Rafael, y’see.”

“Well, I don’t see how that changes your level of awesome at all,” Riko declared. “Vi’s right. Who cares if it’s more wolf than demon, are you kidding me? You’re eleven, well, twelve years old, and you can do that. There’s oodles of stories about people who turn into a wolf or other animal, like that classical werewolf thing, and then forget they’re people and they’re all grown up and stuff.”

Amy nodded sagely, barely hiding a grin. “Yes, see, Edie-dear, you’re at the very least as, possibly even more, stubborn as we. No need to try and evade that special sort of compliment.”

“Oh, alright then...” Edie huffed a dramatic sigh. “Give me one of those sandwiches then, will you, please?”

The rest of the train ride was relaxed and uneventful. They played cards, though obviously not Exploding Snap, with the full moon less than two days gone. Edie sharked them at Canasta and Schafkopfen, though Riko did hold back there, they finished the remaining sweets, and made plans on when to try and visit Edie and on how best to introduce Riko and Vi.

Unsurprisingly it was a good thing they had no trunks along, only a rucksack each. When they drew into the train station at last, the corridor outside was packed. But they had an advantage and a plan. Before anyone had even managed to press through the throngs at the doors Amy had dragged them through the train wall. Edie headed immediately to where she had spotted her family to drag them out and introduce them to Amy’s parents.

Riko and Vi hastily obscured themselves, trailing Amy and taking care to evade any bumping. With a grin and a wink Riko dragged Vi around the corner to platform nine, checking the lines-of-sight so they couldn’t be seen by any Drakes on the platform they’d just left. The Hufflepuff girl looked remarkably muggle despite the fact she wore only items made for magical folks. Well, and a knit cap from Edie. It was all in the combination, really.

Then they had caught up to Amy and were quickly introduced to her parents. Both looked pleased to be addressed very politely as Dr. Granger, and with Vi’s quiet, courteous manners and Riko’s careful mask of innocent charm they apparently managed to make a good impression. Her mother, according to Amy the one more inclined to be stern, scored bonus points in Riko’s estimation with her complete non-reaction to Riko’s non-standard colouring.

Mrs Granger had her curly, middle-brown hair in a French braid and looked to be, despite her sharp eyes and quick words, quite relaxed and pleased to meet her daughter’s friends. From her warm welcome, Amy had written a lot about them in her letters home, well, before she became too busy making sure Harry Potter and Ron Weasley didn’t get themselves killed or expelled. Which Amy had clearly not mentioned quite like that in her letters.

Amy’s dad was mild and soft-spoken and reminded Riko a little of Edie, with his calm demeanour not able to hide the understated humour in his eyes. Looking at him, Riko thought that Amy had really lucked out in her own genetic lottery, combining his dark skin and hair colour with Mrs Grangers spirited curls. And with both of them being doctors her friend had clearly absorbed their combined brains, no wonder she was so brilliant, really.

Then Edie arrived with most of her family in tow, only her father and Lea were busy with an urgent emergency regarding an injured Hippogriff. Edie’s mother was a radiant ball of cheerful energy, obviously pleased to meet her daughter’s friends and Amy’s parents. She had a discreetly direct and warm manner, her hair darker than Edie’s but eyes the same bright amber. In no time at all she’d drawn the Grangers into a conversation about their interests and if they’d like to visit at some point over the holidays for tea.

Edie’s grandmother introduced herself as Oma and the resemblance to her daughter was striking, both in manner and overall looks, just a little shorter, as if condensed, her hair a darkish grey and her eyes a warm brown. After favouring them with an indulgent smile and wink she joined Mrs Eohyrde and the Grangers in their talk about visiting and letting the children get together and the logistics of getting the Grangers to Edie’s place out near Wootton Wawen.

Kean had to be pulled bodily from behind Oma for Edie to introduce him. His shy looks and silence indicated his face was flushed not only because of the cold weather and his first few words of greeting proved how unsure he was, faced with three older, unknown girls who were already at Hogwarts with his sister, who he clearly admired.

He quickly thawed though, when Riko treated him completely normal, asking if he had seen the Princess Bride yet and what else he might recommend for their upcoming visit. Neither of her three friends said anything but Riko still felt both slightly insulted and proud at their amused looks. Just because she let her usual disregard of what was after all called common sense for a reason carry her through a conversation that let the kid show his true value.

His hair was lighter than Edie’s and fell in a wavy mop around his ears and his eyes, though darker than Edie’s, had the same way of crinkling with amusement. He seemed tiny, yes, but he was eight already, not a little kid, and Riko had no doubt that once he got to Hogwarts he would make his sister proud. For one, he caught on very quickly to the classic draw a coin from nowhere, then disappear it trick, and had good fun with it, too.

In no time at all it was agreed that everyone would visit Edie on the 27th, the children arriving sometime before lunch, Amy’s parents in the late afternoon via the Floo in the office Mrs Eohyrde kept in muggle London. With that cleared up, Riko mentioned there was no reason to wait as she and Vi would take the tube from here and then the Floo from the Leaky Cauldron.

The disapproval of this plan, especially from Mrs Granger, was clear even as they stressed that their parents were just busy and it was no problem, indeed quite fun because Vi hadn’t used the tube before and Riko wanted to show her. Thankfully Amy and Edie, supported by Oma and Mrs. Eohyrde, were able to prevent any well-meant interference like making sure they arrived safely. It was easy to see where Amy’s lionheart tendencies stemmed from.

The ride to the Leaky Cauldron was a bit cramped, lots of people on the way home from work or out hunting for gifts, all bundled up against the weather. Riko, knowing Vi wasn’t overly fond of not knowing or having to ask unspecific questions, mostly held a monologue, explaining everything they did and passed, just relating everything to the differences to what she knew of the local mahoutsuki and also both sides of the divide in Japan.

When they trooped into the pub it was choking full, and with quite a few students from Hogwarts to avoid, so they quickly pushed through into Diagon Alley. Vi only nodded when Riko headed for a bookshop that specialized in the medical field, The Asklepian Scribe. They left with two hefty volumes on the basics of general, common healing charms and restorative potions. That hadn’t taken long and neither of them wanted to walk straight back into the pub, so they drifted a bit between the shop windows.

With Vi willing to just trail along, Riko headed for Marjin Alley in hopes of finding some entertaining knick-knacks, and they quickly lost track of time looking at all the different gadgets and trinkets, buying cinnamon-honey-roasted nuts in a paper bag at one stall and mint-pepper candy canes at another, a few different keys usable for skeleton keys that Riko couldn’t resist, a set of deep sea-green gobstones and some other little fun bits.

Only when they saw some of the shops closing did they remember the time and their circumstances. They had their hoods up, and not just because of the cold, but even so they were a bit on edge as they made their way back to the Cauldron. The pub was still full but it was the normal evening crowd, which eased their worried minds as they made straight for the fire place. Riko let Vi go first, watching closely, not having used this way of travel before.

Her friend stepped up to a prominent stone bowl on the giant mantle of the pub’s impressive fire place, took a handful of silvery powder from it and threw it in the fire. In response the flames reared up high in a pretty emerald green and with an easy nonchalance that told Riko this was indeed an everyday situation Vi stepped into the dancing flames. Then very calmly and clearly she said “The Three Broomsticks!” and vanished.

Well, alright then.

Riko quickly stepped up to not draw attention by lagging and copied Vi’s actions, feeling just a little tense. She knew after all how it was supposed to work, there was no reason to worry. Indeed, it felt like standing in a warm breeze, instead of being surrounded by flames higher than her head, so yes, no worries. “The Three Broomsticks,” she said, in same tone she’d use on a broomstick.

It felt like being sucked down a giant plughole, no one had mentioned that. But Riko kept her head, and her body stiff as a proverbial board, though the surprise did make her drop into quicktime. Well, it couldn’t hurt, to make sure she got every detail on her first trip, set a baseline and all. After a few moments it was more like standing in the exact centre of an emerald-green whirlwind as it travelled through what had to be the Floo-net.

She almost though she could make out a blurring stream of other people’s fire places as she was swept past them. Riko remembered that if she were to jump forward or lean out too much she might well end up in some stranger’s living room. It made her draw back from her squinting attempts at making out separate fireplaces. Then she could see she was heading directly towards one specific fireplace, where Vi’s back was still just visible.

Riko almost stumbled into her friend. For a moment it seemed everything except her was spinning, but taking a grip of Vi’s shoulder helped immediately. They were in a warm, comfortably furnished pub, quite a bit more welcoming than the Leaky Cauldron, really, probably on account of the wood being not quite as dark. There were some customers but it wasn’t crowded, a handsome Christmas tree was standing beside the fire place, and no one paid them much mind.

Situation deemed safe, Riko relaxed, glad to fall into normal time again. Then Vi gave her a look back over her shoulder, her dark eyes shining with glee, and she nodded to show she was up for whatever idea her friend had. When Vi came up with something it was always good. Well, usually, with occasional exceptions of everything exploding in their faces, but Riko admitted this occasionally happened with her own plans, too, so, whatever, lead on, friend.

Said friend walked up to the bar, settling in as if it was completely normal. It wasn’t even a minute until a tall, stately witch with a warm smile moved over from a small group of loudly laughing witches by the other end and asked what they’d like, giving them an unabashedly curious look. Riko was suddenly reminded of Ilar and couldn’t help smiling back.

“Two hot butterbeer, if you please.” Vi grinned, actually grinned, obviously in a rare great mood.

“That’ll be three Sickles, dear. I hope you haven’t got far to go, you’ve got a right bad weather waiting for you outside.” The witch plonked down two foaming tankards on the bar before storing the coins in a bag at her hip.

Now Riko had to grin as well. What a friendly way to fish for gossip, she liked the witch already. “Thank you,” she said, “but it’s not far.”

Then she took a cautious sip. It’d smelled good, bit like caramel, and it tasted even better, like butterscotch but less over-the-top sweet. It also warmed every bit of her from the inside.

Humming with pleasure she nodded as Vi. “Alright, officially fantastic idea that, really hits the spot and perfect to celebrate our success, too.”

Vi nodded back gravely, though her eyes shone with good humour as she sat down her tankard after a rather deeper sip than Riko had taken.

“Why, thank you, that’s good to hear, even from a first time customer. Make it myself, you know,” the barwitch dimpled prettily, amusement twinkling in her light blue eyes as she continued. “Oh, but I haven’t even introduced myself, deary me! Madam Rosmerta, glad you seem to appreciate my pub. Wouldn’t have thought I’d see the new Slyver heir quite that soon, and with the elusive Drake heir along, if I guess correctly?”

Riko blinked, once, but that was about the extent of her reaction. Not that it was much of an effort to remain genial. After all the crazy of the last two, or perhaps three, days and with the warmth of accomplishment still lingering in her limbs it would have been very hard to get upset about most anything. Vi seemed to share her mellow outlook, though her gaze was sharp, as if she was ready to guard Riko against any comers. It settled Riko even more, made her feel lazy warm, content and giddy with good humour.

“Oh, well, suppose I should have guessed an innkeep would know just about everything that happens in the area,” Riko winked. “I apologize, fine mistress of butterbeer, no disrespect was intended. I just didn’t think I’d warrant any talk at the pub, not like I’ve done anything of public interest yet.”

Madam Rosmerta actually laughed at that, her impressive bosom dancing with mirth. “Oh, that’s real cute, dear, already such a sweet-talker! I think in a few years you’ll be a right menace for the hearts of your peers with that silver tongue you’ve got.”

Riko ignored her heating face, enjoying the chance to play charms with an easygoing, entertaining barkeep. She hadn’t even realized how much she missed Ilar until that moment.

“You flatter me, dearest dame of revelry! Without a single doubt you are the lady of hearts for whoever enters this fine place. Please do excuse my boorish manners when I bluntly ask if you’re going to get us into trouble for coming here?”

Madam Rosmerta crossed her arms, eyes dancing with suppressed laughter, and leaned her head to the side as if thinking hard.

“Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been at school so I’m not sure, but the simple act of buying fine butterbeer, and then drinking it, can certainly not be an offence.” She winked with a mischievous smile, “And besides, it’s the holidays, do school rules even apply in that time? That’d be unreasonable, surely.”

Then the witches at the other end of the bar hollered for Rosmerta and the barkeep sent back an equally loud and good-humoured “Be right there, girls!”

Turning back to Riko and Vi she favoured them a warm smile, but there was a serious tone in her voice. “You should start soon, it’s a right blizzard out there. Usually you can’t miss the way, but..”

“Thank you, we’ll just finish and be on our way. We’re quite good with warming charms, so it shouldn’t be that bad,” Riko reassured her. “And we’re not known for running around in circles, I don’t think we’ll be able to miss the massive castle, it’s just down the main street.”

The bar witch nodded and, before hurrying off, mentioned with a small smile. “In the holidays there’s usually not that much business, though it’s the time when the professors are seen most often, here. Pleasant holidays.”

They echoed back “Pleasant holidays!” and smiled at each other before turning back to their tankards, raising them to a shared salute. Riko finished first, enjoying the feeling of warmth that spread even into the tips of her toes. While she waited for her friend she dug into her pockets until she found the small pendant that had come with what she’d decided to make Tony’s gift.

It was a pretty looking sun, six flames curving out like waves from the base circle with the ring that connected them set back so it could easily be affixed to a string or pin. Riko thought it had probably once been the front of a cloak pin, actually. She put it beside her empty tankard, in a small folded note.

“ _This would surely look nice on your handsome tree, or wherever you might like a little sun to shine. Pleasant holidays and warm thanks for your great hospitality!”_

Then Vi was finished and after waving their goodbyes they headed into a weather that was clearly overdoing it in it’s zeal to prove itself a real, honest, and respectable blizzard. They kept close to the houses until they found a sign that pointed them in the direction of Hogwarts and started trudging along. They had cast their warming charms as soon as they left the pub, but it turned out it didn’t help much against the cutting wind.

The gusts of wind became even more biting when they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, and when they could at last see the vague shape of the Shrieking Shack they were frozen stiff. Of course Riko knew how to release her own locking charms without much fuss, but she still cursed her creativity and overzealousness of stacking so many different versions. When they entered at last, shivering and covered in snow, she didn’t bother with more than one.

They’d been so glad to get out of the wind, but it turned out the air in the tunnel was a stream of fierce drafts, freezing and howling around them. Then, when they at last came up by the Willow, it was to a disorienting whirlwind blowing the fresh snow from the ground everywhere, including the insides of their jackets. Riko was only glad she had Vi along because she hated, absolutely hated, walking through such weather. It was to be avoided at all costs, she’d learned that the hard way, what the bloody hell was she doing here?

When they at last stumbled into the entrance hall in a shower of wildly dancing snow and windwhirls their teeth were clattering uncontrollably and they were just about ready to drop. After shoving the unreasonably heavy doors closed with a truly herculean effort they leaned wearily against the dark wood, just breathing, too exhausted even to curse.

“Now, what do we have here, hm?” The scratchy voice of Filch made them jerk in shock. Where the hell had he even come from? “Students out after hours, sneaking around outside the castle.. I think you’re in for it now...”

The unholy glee in his face was impossible to miss. Vi and Riko looked at each other, swallowing. If he dragged them into his office and they were forced to empty their rucksacks things would really start to get out of hand, that was for sure.

“We didn’t mean to stay out that long, it just took forever to get back with that dratted snowstorm...” Riko started, bone tired, her brain working uncommonly sluggishly.

The irritable caretaker narrowed his eyes. “Of course, and I was born just yesterday. You will now..”

They never learned what it was they would, or rather wouldn’t.

“Ah, Argus, how good of you, just who I was looking for...” It really was as if Professor Sprout appeared from thin air behind the caretaker, making him jump with surprise.

He opened his mouth again, probably to accuse them of who knew what, even if it was unlikely to be anything they had actually done today. That’s just how he is, thought Riko, with weak, returning humour. But Professor Sprout beat him to it.

“Oh dear, let me take a look, what you children get up to...”, she tsk-ed and Riko blinked dazedly as she was again target of the professor’s diagnostic spell, then Vi after her.

“Well, it’s a good thing you found them, Argus, thank you, I’ll take it from here,” Professor Sprout nodded briskly at the incensed man and turned away, taking them both by the shoulder. “I’m taking you two to Madam Pomfrey where you will explain yourself! Am I making myself quite clear? Trundling about in a blizzard may not be against school rules as such, but that’s no excuse, really..”

They stumbled along numbly and Riko hoped the professor and the mediwitch would be quick about whatever was supposedly wrong with them. She was trying really hard to remember their cover story, and possibly build on it, but her thoughts always returned to the enticing idea of at last getting some sleep.

They were out of the snow now, and thus safe, and thus it was alright to sleep, and she wouldn’t have to worry about remembering stuff and feeling miserable, which she knew she was absolutely abominable at. But cover story, ah yes, hedges by the vegetable patch, good for exploring, blizzard. Bloody damn idiotic blizzard, who came up with the damn things, seriously?

Madam Pomfrey joined Vi’s head of house in the tsk-ing as soon as she saw them, like it was a secret skill or perhaps language the two shared. (That would be awesome, Riko thought, she’d have to see if there was something like that, a secret language that people wouldn’t even recognize as a language, fantastic..)

Vi’s and Riko’s teeth were still chattering and they were both shivering violently. Riko could see that her friend was very pale, giving her a sort of greyish complexion, which looked very odd with the slightly blueish lips. It took embarrassingly long to put down their rucksacks and they actually needed help to get out of their coats.

When Riko and Vi had both sat on a bed the mediwitch was already pushing a potion in their hands. The effect was pleasantly reminiscent of the butterbeer they had drunk, the warmth only a little slower to seep into her very bones but not vanishing afterwards. It also helped clear her mind, though it did nothing for her deep, burning desire to just sleep.

“Now, what in Circe’s name possessed you to not come in when the blizzard started up?” Professor Sprout looked more exasperated than angry and she hadn’t taken a second glance at their rucksacks before they’d pushed them under their beds.

“Sorry, professor, we were caught up exploring. We wanted to do the hedges by the vegetable patch for ages already, it’s such a great maze, and we thought it would be great to map it, and maybe find a spell to set it to change, sometimes, you know, like one of those living labyrinths the goblins built, only better, because it’s a hedge..”

Riko trailed off at the narrow look she got from the two witches. As if they weren’t sure if she was crazy or perhaps lying and crazy enough to do whatever else out in that horrid weather. It’d probably be the lack of any other conceivable thing to do in that weather, and perhaps a quantum of a soft spot, that would convinced them it must be the former, not the latter.

“I apologize, professor, we really didn’t mean to hang around in a blizzard, it’s just, we were quite protected, at first. When we realized it was actually a blizzard, we were already headed for the castle, it just took longer than we thought..” Vi added with a shrug, her eyes downcast and looking very embarrassed.

Riko marvelled at her masterful delivery and wording, just like her own story everything she’d said was technically true. The two witches shared a look that spoke volumes on their view regarding the sanity, or rather lack thereof, they’d displayed. Then, with a huff, heh, Professor Sprout nodded.

“Very well, you two obviously need rest.” She turned to Vi. “Ms Drake, I’ll expect you in my office tomorrow after breakfast. I also have a letter from your family for you that the owl probably felt was delivered better inside the castle than outside, in the raging blizzard,” her look made pointedly clear she agreed with the owl, before she turned to Riko.

“Ms Slyver, I will also inform your head of house of the situation and let him come to his own conclusions,” she shook her head, obviously still in awe, so to speak, of their actions. “I hope you at least learned something from the experience! Now, good night, you clearly need your rest!” She gave a friendly nod and wave to Madam Pomfrey and left.

Riko traded a look with Vi; exhausted, yes, careful, too; relieved, at least for a certain measure; but mostly gleefully happy. It was fantastic, really. The mediwitch looked at them for a moment then huffed tolerantly and briskly moved to fetch a few more blankets.

After that, and giving them another potion to drink, one that made Riko feel slightly fuzzy around the edges, she instructed them to sleep now. Riko almost laughed. If she’d had the energy for it she’d have told the mediwitch that was her plan, had been her plan for longer than she’d been in the hospital wing. Instead she traded a last grin with with Vi before falling asleep like a stone.


	15. Christmas Proper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Christmas, that time when you receive gifts and eat a lot and all is good. (and nobody gets in any trouble and all is just well with the world..) =)

When they woke the next day, and were after a short breakfast and extended examination released by Madam Pomfrey, Riko and Vi first hurried to their respective dormitory to store away their incriminating bags, unused but pleased to be able to run around the school without the need to be obscured. Then Riko headed for her talk with Professor Snape, her first ever in official context with any trouble. She knocked cautiously on the door to his office and was called inside after just a moment of waiting. Professor Snape was working, sitting behind his massive, dark, old-fashioned desk and waving her towards a chair in front of it without slowing his writing.

“Professor Sprout has informed me you and Ms Drake were found by Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall, shortly after curfew, suffering from moderate cases of hypothermia.”

He spoke, still not looking up from or interrupting his writing, which Riko thought was a great skill that she’d have to learn as well. As he paused to dip his feather in the ink pot he gave her a short, piercing look and she was almost sure she saw one corner of his mouth twitch upwards, or maybe it was something in his eyes. His voice was as smooth and quiet as during Potions and the numerous jars of all sorts of differently coloured potions and ingredients on the walls strengthened the impression, making her relax automatically.

“When treated and questioned, you claimed you were caught up exploring, realized the scope of the weather too late, and were then delayed by the blizzard on your way back,” he paused again, but this time to look at her, face completely neutral and unreadable. “Is this correct, Ms Slyver?”

She nodded, privately praising his exact wording. “Yes, professor.”

Riko wasn’t overly concerned, to be honest. She knew she’d probably get some sort of detention, but at least they’d got away from Filch, who was unlikely to be rational, ever, and perhaps Professor Snape wouldn’t even take points. They had after all, officially, not done anything wrong. And it was holidays already, too.

He nodded, almost imperceptibly, and went back to writing, face still unreadable. “You will write a composition on the different potions used to treat Hypothermia, including a short historic overview and explanation of the different approaches. A short definition of the effects of the condition will be useful to discuss that.”

There was a moment of expectant silence.

“Yes, professor,” Riko supplied quickly. She hadn’t wanted to cut him off if he just made a pause, after all.

“There are a few students staying over the holidays this year, most to catch up for their OWLs or NEWTs, and they will require occasional use of the potions classroom. You are to make sure the ingredients in the student supply cupboard are sorted correctly, and inform me if any of them are about to run out.”

“Yes, professor,” Riko answered, wondering, irrationally amused, if he would come up with more and more things unless she stood up. Anyway, this sounded rather final so she made to stand, only to hear him continue, still in that even, neutral voice.

“Discretion is a valued commodity,” he said, the quietly implied ‘especially for a Slytherin’ as clear as if he ’d spelled it out even as he continued calmly, “a fact you seemed to be aware of. I was thus slightly surprised to overhear certain parties claim you’d be on the train yesterday, citing you as source.”

Oh, right, Tony. Whose spellfather he was. Fantastic. He was studying her with the same, unreadable look again and, although he didn’t elaborate, Riko heard the implications right clear. Lying to a housemate like that could turn out badly, for several reasons. It was very good as a dressing-down, mostly because it lacked the usual trappings, just stated the pertinent facts. And damn, but that was a tricky one to answer without lying to her head of house, and she really didn’t want to go there. Embarrassedly clearing her throat, Riko shrugged, going over options.

“Well, I was asked directly and.. gave a mistakable reply...” Riko thought that was a very good way to put it.

Just because she had been on the train didn’t mean she couldn’t spend her holidays here, now did it? A number of people had gotten onto the train with their friends and then come out again to go back to the school. They’d just taken a slightly different route, really, and it wasn’t like she owed them her whereabouts anyway.

“I see,” his eyes were sharp, evaluating her. “And when, upon returning, they wonder why you are already at Hogwarts..” he let it hang in the air like one of the leading questions he liked to ask during lesson. And, yeah, they, of course. Draco, whose spellfather he was as well.

“Well, I just returned a bit early, obviously, not like the train only runs once a week or anything..” Riko gave him a little shrug and then a small, shy smile with some honest embarrassment mixed in. She wasn’t sure it was alright to smile, but he didn’t seem angry so it couldn’t hurt, right, to be friendly.

He looked at her thoughtfully for another moment, then went back to his writing. “Very well, Ms Slyver,” he said, “Do make sure to have the text ready on the 4th of the next year, preferably earlier. Three feet at the least, five at most. You are not allowed to ask the house elves to help with your duties in the potions classroom. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, professor.” Riko said, grateful but still wary, not sure if that really was the end of it, now.

“Off you go, then..” he waved absently with his feather and she left, relieved, feeling like she should thank him but knowing no way to do so without breaking protocol. He had after all let her off in every way imaginable and possible and almost spelled out that Vi could help her with her task.

She walked to the Entrance Hall deep in thought. It was almost eerie how Professor Snape was always so in control, and he never let on what he knew. Of course he couldn’t know what they’d done, but still, Riko wouldn’t be very surprised if he could find out if he really wanted. He was really scarily fantastic or maybe fantastically scary. Or both, really, although she did wonder why he was spending the holidays here. But then, it was probably better than try and work out when to stay at the Malfoys or Parkinsons respectively, and she was reasonably sure he enjoyed having some peace from all the students and their drama, and he did have to correct the winter exams after all..

Then Vi trailed up the stairs, looking perturbed. Well, as perturbed as Vi ever looked, at any rate, and Riko remembered that Professor Sprout had mentioned a letter. Coming from Vi’s family, which couldn’t mean anything good, that much was clear. After all, surely Professor Sprout couldn’t be responsible for her friend looking like that, a week of bad weather and ambushes. But when she caught sight of Riko waiting for her Vi’s face broke into a grin, her bad mood seemingly banished, or at least forgotten. No mentioning it then.

They headed for the library at a leisurely pace, talking about their detentions. Vi had to do a composition on the use of magical hedges, discussing history and different practices, and give a short explanation of the differences to the living walls of the goblins. She poked Riko when she mentioned the last.

“Well, sorry, but it is better than the alternatives, isn’t it?” Riko said and Vi had to admit to that, though Riko’s grin triggered a poking match as clearly her friend couldn’t let such smug self-satisfaction go unchallenged.

It ended only when they arrived at the library and realized belatedly they were without any of their usual gear. Laughing, they went down to get their bags, then made short detour to take a look at just what sort of hedges they had supposedly been exploring and visit Hagrid to deliver his Yule-slash-Christmas gift. The four of them had pooled for a new collar of Graphorn-skin for Fang, which pleased him to no end. He, too, had of course heard about their supposed exploring by the hedges already, and took a similar view of it as Professor Sprout. Only instead of chores he gave them thick slices of gravelly fruitbread with their tea and insisted they take a care now.

Riko grinned when on the way back in Vi remarked on the joys of unobscured travel and they raced each other to the entrance of the library. They almost ran over Mrs. Norris on the way and after that had a bit of a hard time reaching their goal. It wasn’t easy to try and race the shortest and least-Filch-used passages while fighting laughter, and they barely made it. Madam Pince raised her eyebrows at them as they stumbled in, out of breath and leaning against each other, snickering. She was only mildly disapproving, though, and they quickly slipped into the card-registry room. When they entered the main room again they were collected and all business, if only middling pleased that they had bad chances of using one of the hidden tables today.

For one, those were bound to be occupied already by the OWL and NEWT students or, well, couples, and after their entrance they had to be obviously good students, at least for a bit. Pity, that, but, well, and they did have some work to do. They spent the rest of the day with their new assignments, checked out a few books on Dark Creatures after dinner, and then Vi helped Riko with the students cabinet. There wasn’t much to do, luckily. Then, because most of her house and all of her year-mates had gone home, Vi invited Riko into the Hufflepuff Den, some stairs further up than Slytherin and halfway at different ends of the castle, to proudly show her around.

The brilliant entrance opened directly into a comfortable, unevenly formed room, a big round fireplace standing open to all sides, the surrounding wide arches ending in columns around its edge, making it the centre of the entire area. Like in Slytherin there were nooks and crannies, but a number of those niches were bigger and even had their own small stoves, like tiled barrels of warmth. The stones of the masonry and the hangings (fewer than in Slytherin), the entire bright and warm colour palette, from the wood to the polsters on the armchairs and couches, made it a bright, cheery sort of place. After a short, silent tour and settling them on one of the tables close to the fire, Vi went to open a massive wardrobe and Riko saw a plethora of crafting supplies of all kinds.

“Figured we could do some nice packaging, and maybe a card or two,” Vi said idly, looking over her shoulder with a smirk.

It was clearly for the benefit of the few other Hufflepuffs in the room, who had so far tolerantly ignored them beyond a few nods in greeting. Vi had been the one to supply them with wrapping paper and all that stuff for Amy and Edie’s birthday, so it was clearly a right solid plan to wrap their gifts here, before taking them up to the owlery. Riko wasn’t going to bother Korra with it, it was more than one package anyway, and the snowing had started again over the afternoon, and just no. Fuck snow, and blizzards in particular.

They had good fun with their respective work. Riko amused herself finding the best ways of wrapping the gifts, using various snippets from the attempts for making up pretty if abstract-looking decorations for the cards. More cards than strictly necessary, but sending a card with the Solitary Pounds and useful knick-knacks would be nice, right. Riko was slightly embarrassed she’d only thought of her, well, muggle acquaintances in this after-thought context, now, as opposed to when it grew fiercely cold and wet for example, and then embarrassed at being embarrassed. She herself wouldn’t appreciate the implication she couldn’t take care of herself, so surely they wouldn’t either. And they had made do before her, too.

She resolutely put it out of her mind (at least for now). There was enough to do as was, concrete matters even, and maybe Ilar might like one..? At a table nearby two older girls had an MC of Celestina Warbeck out, and the Jazz-like warbling was a pleasant background noise, made it easier to occasionally exchange a few comments without being overheard, even if they were all harmless matters and the two of them never needed many words anyway. Riko had, befre coming here, put Vi’s gift in a sock so her friend wouldn’t be able to guess what it was and it turned out Vi had done the same. Now, how to best wrap it, hm..

“Oi, Torie,” intruded a voice in Riko’s thoughts about how best to transfer Vi’s gift into it’s pre-arranged wrapping, and when she looked up, confused, Prefect Strickland was standing at their table, looking at Vi. She didn’t seem put out, her tone had been friendly, and when she saw Riko paying attention she shot her a friendly, easy-going smile. “Just figured I’d offer up some Hufflepuff hospitality, what with you two so focused on yer work,” she winked at the two of them and placed a few gingerbread cookies and candied fruits on their table.

It was an unprecedented situation, so Riko answered with a cautious smile and thanks. Vi seemed surprised, too, but of course she didn’t really show it, it was only the half moment’s pause before she shot an actual, if small, smile at the girl.

“Thanks, Terry,” she said in a tone that, while a bit wary, was serious and free of her usual dry sarcasm.

“Oh, glad to,” Terry the prefect said warmly and shot the two of them another friendly smile.

She clearly meant what she said, Riko’s cueroscope confirmed it, but her look was about as discerning as it was honestly pleased. It was a bit odd, though not threatening.

After they’d admittedly stared a bit dumbly at her for another moment Prefect Terry cleared her throat and tucked some lose hair behind her ear. “S’nice to have friends over, I know, and as long as there’s no.. uh, trouble, sleep-overs are always nice, specially in the hols..”

They had no chance to actually react to her obviously well-meant statement, as she dimpled prettily and quickly went back to her own table, the one with the MC still playing. She didn’t look back at them and sat with her back to them, after she’d dumped a few sweets on that table too, her friend greeting her with a sweet smile after twinkling over at them. Vi looked to be somewhere between pleased, embarrassed, and self-deprecatingly amused. Riko appreciated what she could decipher: clearly Vi’s house was quite alright with her, even the both of them.

“Torie?” she asked, because she was curious, always, and it was an out, made comments on any other, underlying house-matters unnecessary.

“Eh,” Vi said, “I was a bit of a grump, y’know, when my roommates wanted to get to what had me always out and in trouble, before the Untouchables. They meant well, of course, and it wasn’t even just the house thing, Bone’s aunt heads the MLEP department, and Dustmoor’s family is all Aurors, it’s a thing with them, but I just, well, y’know me..”

Vi shrugged, easy, relaxed, sardonical, and, gods and spirits, yeah, Riko had some idea, she could take a clue. Her friend had after all flat out told her the Drake family had taken over certain operations of the currently-defunct Slyvers. Forever-defunct Slyvers, if Riko had any say, and yeah, no matter what view any of her housemates, much less those mentioned, were taking, clearly Vi wouldn’t want them anywhere near her situation, or family, or any combination there-of.

“Mhyeah, sure, but still.. Torie? S’a bit muggle, innit, and I can’t really see the fit..?” she said.

“It is?” Vi said, from her warm look appreciating the harmless direction Riko was aiming for. “Huh, it took after a joke from Alice.. so what’s it with muggles? Far as I know it’s just about being stiff on a principle, from that right succession vs religion thing..”

“Err, no clue, sorry, you can tell me later though maybe?” Riko smiled, as always sheepish when she had no clue what was clearly considered common knowledge here. “For muggles it’s a political party though, sort of, ah, the man, stiff, harsh on the people, interested only in the big money, doesn’t give a fuck, that sorta thing..”

“Ah,” Vi looked vaguely amused and added a dry, “Well, guess that makes sense then.”

She did it with a shrug, though, so Riko accepted the subject as closed for now and decided to leave the sock around her gift, and maybe add a small note to please give it back. Hah, perfect fit too, all considered. They took the packages up to the owlery pretty soon after, and upon their return to the Den retreated straight to what was right now Vi’s room. Like in Slytherin, there was a number of entrances into different tunnels that lead to dormitories, though the tunnels were wider and comfier, like an extension of the common room, and as she followed Vi, Riko saw that the doors were all perfectly round, like giant barrel tops, many decorated with clearly hand-crafted hangings of various sorts.

As soon as she closed the door behind her all outside sound disappeared. At Riko’s surprised look Vi shot her a proud, eyes-only smirk.

“There’s always something or other going on in the commons or even in the passages, pretty sure we’re the loudest house on average, so the doors are charmed to close it out. S’nice in all, though, and you can always leave the door open, too.”

“Yeah, I heard a few things about the parties here,” Riko grinned at the idea of quiet dorms and loud outsides, various ideas, there, and because she had overheard quite a bit indeed.

“Hah, yeah, ’least half the parties of Hogwarts are here, and we’re apparently very much the supplier in most every way for a good time,” Vi said and they shared a look, part embarrassed part giddy, just happy with their shared point of view and insight, peaceful as they were.

Then, having agreed that staying up to wait for the presents to arrive was a tradition they wouldn’t mind to join, they settled in on Vi’s bed. First they dug through the books to find any useful details on werewolves and their, well, mechanics and properties, searching for a way to help Edie.

When it turned out the books only fixated on ways of identifying those ‘creatures’ and ramblings on why registering them and staying away from them was so important and so on, they abandoned reading and set to playing cards. Vi was pretty damn good at it, much better than on the train, heh, and knew some decent tricks, too, and of course in the process they got to talking about all sorts of things.

Her friend was discreetly, carefully curious about the things she’d seen Riko do, not just the shadow-thing. Because of course she’d noticed the small gesture Riko used for her ninja-ping. Riko tried to explain. Even if she was doubtful Vi would be able to learn becoming a shadow, and not just because Riko wasn’t nearly as knowledgeable, or as capable a teacher, as Shizuka-sensei had been.

For one, Riko wasn’t even doing it right, exactly, more substituting, really, and also, Vi just wasn’t very, hm, liquid maybe, or perhaps nebulous might to be the word closest to the meaning Riko wanted? But she explained as best she could and told Vi the exercises she had done at the time, starting her friend with the ninja-ping. That was much easier, and the first trick not connected to direct physical activity Riko had learned. Of course she only managed to confuse her friend at first, until Riko started to explain the theory and views behind it, so different from what Vi was used to, after all.

The idea of magic being an inherently special addition to a common person, making them thus different and _more_ in some way, was just not very fitting in Riko’s opinion. As far as she knew every person could learn some sort of magic or trick or whatever you wanted to call it. The limiting factors were a persons level of energy, which could be increased by all sorts of items and exercises, and their level of skill and dedication.

There were admittedly different flavours, but Riko was rather sure they came mostly from the association and nature of the caster. This descended into a discussion on the differences, or lack thereof, between the ideas of spirit, mind and soul. Vi didn’t elaborate much on her own views but was interested in poking at Riko’s statement, that  they were all the same thing, namely the self of someone, and anything else was simply matter, formed by will.

The concluding idea, that will itself was in a way a source of energy as well, and thus energy in some way comparable to will, amused her friend for some reason. Riko understood only when Vi waved to resign on their discussion and shot her a rare, actual grin. “So that’s why you always use being stubborn as a compliment, now it all makes sense.”

Riko laughed and didn’t bother to argue. To her, will was both energy and that which shaped the energy, but she admitted they were going beyond metaphysical with that, into personal philosophy, and everyone had after all their own views of themselves. After a bout of enormous shared yaws, Vi rolling her eyes tolerantly as Riko wriggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly, they decided to play Exploding Snap as a last effort to remain awake.

*

They woke up to warm, gold light streaming through the small round windows, lighting up two small piles of presents and announcing that breakfast had probably already started. It wasn’t the light that woke them though, no, it was the big eagle owl beating against one of the windows with her wings.

Danae, the Malfoy family owl, Riko knew her well enough by now, as she regularly delivered letters and sweets to Draco at breakfast. She scrambled to open the window, letting the owl hop in carefully; just as in her room at Errol’s Pub, Danae’s wingspan was too great to fly through.

The owl was clearly displeased with this repeat offence and hooted irritably before dumping a rectangular package beside Vi’s bed, where they had fallen asleep among strewn and singed cards. Then she hopped outside again and rustled her feathers importantly before flying off, setting the window panes rattling and Riko up to catch them.

The view caught her then, bright and breathtaking. The Hufflepuffs looked eastwards and, yes, they did it from the rock below Hogwarts castle. But unlike the Lair there was scarcely any living rock to be seen inside and they were high enough to show a good drop of the cliffs outside, and parts of the grounds, and of course part of the lake off to the side. In the current light it looked right magical.

Riko took a deep breath of the sharp, cold air before closing the window again and returned to the bed, awake now and weird package in hand. The bright, peaceful mood stayed with her, though, and small wonder. Vi’s hair formed a scruffy halo of true black, contrasting the warm gold as her friend stretched with an easy grace that spoke of content and sleepy cats. Checking that the package was indeed addressed to her, and from Lord Malfoy, too, Riko laid it to the side and sat beside a now-awake Vi to open the other gifts from her small pile.

Vi didn’t comment, beyond a small huff, returned Riko’s nudge and went through her own pile, drawing out a small parcel wrapped in brown paper. The notebook had the title _44 French Culture_. Riko hmm-ed questioningly when her friend beamed a quick, gleeful flash of a grin at it, but Vi only shook her head, schooling her features but still radiating smugness.

“You’ll have to wait until the others are back. It’s a surprise, ’cause I wasn’t really sure it’d work,” she said, eyes still shining with black-light glee.

After a short attack of tickling that escalated, sending most of their gifts to the floor and leaving them on their backs to catch their breath, Riko had to give up. She knew that look Vi wore now, it would be impossible to get anything out of her friend. With a dramatic sigh she moved to pick up the parcels while Vi, ink-black eyes laughing at her before they let out to a rare, warm contentment, rolled over to put the contested book into her bedside cabinet.

Riko opened Vi’s gift first, and, immensely pleased by the adjustable wandholder, put it on immediately. It was so craftily made she could put on her tekkou hand guards over or under it with no problem.

“Fantastic, Vi! You’ll have to show me some other places to wear it and how best to draw then, now that I’ve got one, too.”

Vi actually blushed, huffing a quietly pleased “Sure”. Her quick, shy smile was almost completely hidden, barely a twitch in the corner of her mouth, as if she’d been worried Riko wouldn’t like it, which was about absurd enough a thing for Vi to do, and now pleased by the demand for more training, which, well, Vi, so, everything alright then. She had opened Riko’s gift first and was now looking appraisingly at the butterfly knife with it’s frankly amazing cover.

Riko gestured, suddenly nervous herself. What if Vi didn’t like it? “I know it’s usually not good to give a knife as a gift, but you did give me something too, and I want my sock back, too, well, unless we trade, I still have yours, yeah, so that works, too, so it’s not unlucky, the knife, and it’s enchanted, too, not to cut it’s owner and to double as a tube..”

Then, registering Vi’s look, she relaxed, accepting the smugly amused “Ta”, and they opened the rest of their gifts. From Edie Riko had a new copy of _The Princess Bride_ , making her smile, and a thick book about the history and known accounts and deeds of one Arsene Lupin, who had apparently been something of a wizard (or possibly a squib), see discussed in chapters four, seven, and thirtyfour. There was even a chapter exclusively on the way muggles had interpreted him, and his ties to them, and Riko could hardly wait to read it all.

Amy had got her a three-part muggle book set of Arsene Lupin that included a new version of the book she had given up for Amy’s birthday. Riko thought it was absolutely fantastic and hoped Amy would enjoy the storm stone she had gotten her. Her friend had after all mentioned how much she liked thunderstorms, so, hopefully, she’d like it.

Vi had a small, pretty box with a quill-holder and all sorts of different feathers from Edie, which was a really great gift, Riko thought. They were from all sorts of different magical creatures, some especially good for writing, or special kinds of writing, or drawing, others useful for various potions or spells, and others just great for use in crafting and imbuing, be it as bookmarker or ornament with hidden use.

Amy had got their Hufflepuff a thick book on Codes and their creation that Riko was very nearly envious of. Vi had once made a dry comment that they better have a sort of code if they wanted to write her while she was at home, and clearly Amy had kept it in mind. Being a muggle book it would, with luck, teach them a few tricks Vi’s snobbish wizarding family might not know or think of, the index promising morse and enigmas and what-not.

And surely Vi would agree to loan it to her over the summer hols, just to make sure her family didn’t get to it of course. There was one more package, shaped like a wrapped head but too light for it to actually be one, that Vi opened cautiously. It was a hat, rather like a classic fedora, black, with a wide, sturdy brim and  a simple, fitting hat band. Vi put it on with a surprised grin and drew the front down hiding her eyes almost completely.

“Heh, right sharp, who’d ’ve thought it. I’ll have to thank Ju for that..” her eyes crinkled even further in amusement when Riko selected one of the feathers, a griffin’s the label said, and made to put it in the headband.

Riko grinned back, only barely keeping herself from mentioning just how much her friend reminded her of one Jigen Daisuke at that moment. She really had to somehow find a way to show at the very least Cagliostro to her friends. Make a proper project of it, Riko decided, over the summer.

Back in the here and now, this left only the rectangular package from Lord Malfoy. Not missing Vi’s discreet look, Riko shrugged. “Well, he’s my spellfather, I guess he felt he should send something.”

They both had refrained from commenting on the lack of presents from each other’s family, which Riko was glad for, but this was not something she’d put on her friend to ignore.

Said friend raised an eyebrow but only nodded quietly and watched as Riko opened the thick wrapping paper, which was still churning in pretty waves of different greens despite having been subjected to a night of owl post in bad weather. It turned out to be a chess set, a very expensive-looking one, too. There was, again, a short note on thick, expensive parchment.

_According to sources you have some interest in the game but lack a set of your own. A situation any proper spellfather exists to remedy, so I shall seize this opportunity and of course wish you_

_Pleasant Holidays from your spellfather,_

_Lucius, Lord of Malfoy_

The set folded open from the flat, pretty box to a playing field without any visible joint or hinge, the different sides represented by pale, misty moonstone and what appeared to be dark green jadeite or jade. The figures were finely carved, delicate and deadly-looking, in a theme reminiscent of Celtic depictions of the fae people.

They had fitting voices, too, cold and clear, and were as courteous as any Fae she’d ever met, even if they sounded far more bloodthirsty. The different sides even had different Gaelic accents, which was both hilarious and a little insane. It also had another feature, one that made Riko actually like it, even if it was still oddly disturbing to be sent gifts like that.

“Whoa, it’s a real Slytherin set, Draco likes playing his against Blaise or Tony...” she heard Vi whistle appreciatively and was not surprised her friend knew of them.

“If I’d known you need something like that to make you appreciate the ancient, respectable game of wizarding chess, I have one lying around at home, you know..” Vi teased drily.

Riko sat back with an embarrassed little laugh and starting to put her gifts in her bag, to get them moving in the direction of breakfast.

“Ah, well, it’s not that I don’t appreciate it, it just gets dull real quick, I always thought. After all, a rook is a rook is a rook, y’know, and really, what is ever exactly what it seems? Admittedly I don’t usually have many opportunities to play, either. Fun players are hard to come by, and even then there’s always about a gazillion other thing you can do that take the same amount of planning.” She gave a shrug at Vi’s level look.

“Well, there’s Go, which, yes, is the one that sends me off quickest for something more interesting, and Shogi, where you can capture pieces and then use them for your own, which is nice, I think, and well, the chance to change or unmask whatever pieces you like a set number of times definitely adds to the fun, here. But it’s still limited to the board, and going out to actually do something that takes the same planning and manoeuvring is usually more satisfying. Gives more direct gain, too..” she winked and laughed.

After one more moment of serious eyeballing Vi snorted and tolerantly called her a crazy mercenary Slytherin and they raced to the Great Hall, postponing their morning bathroom to enjoy a late breakfast. It was delicious, clearly the elves had put in even more work than usual and added all sorts of fried things to the usual palette, and lasted longer than usual, which made them appreciate Christmas day even more. They returned the useless books on Dark Creatures to Madam Pince and holed up in a rare, sun-ridden spot, having no need for discretion for once, to finish their assignments in what Riko considered a legendary feat of studiousness. It _was_ interesting, both subjects, and this way they were free to explore and play as much as they wanted for the rest of the holidays, which was rather pleasant prospect.

Riko wasn’t sure about Vi, but she thought she’d wait with handing it in at least until the 27th. It’d be sort of rude to do so on a holiday, after all, right? Then she asked her friend about socially acceptable ways of thanking for gifts and was glad for Vi’s help in writing a short, semi-formal note of thanks to Lord Malfoy. Looking back, her first note of thanks hadn’t even been that far off, and considering she had at the time just started here at Hogwarts, Riko thought Lord Malfoy couldn’t really fault her for being a little preoccupied. She’d ask Korra to deliver this one shortly before the new year, to make sure it stayed, symbolically at least, in this year and wouldn’t affect her in the next.

They still had some time before the feast so they checked the potions supply closet again. Unsurprisingly no one had used it today. From there it offered itself that Riko drag Vi into the Lair, showing her everything and inviting her to leave her things in her room. It was hilarious how fascinated Vi was with the windows, even if Riko had admittedly been the same at first. But it really was wicked impressive, opening one with a simple sigil drawn on it and then watching the water just stay there, like a wet, static wall, little bubbles going in and out. Vi wanted to try it more than once, especially the reverse one, curiously touching the returned glass, well, glass-like mysterious stuff. Only then did they head for the Great Hall.

The feast was, considering this was a school, certainly impressive, no doubt about it, and entertaining, too. The tables groaned under dozens of fat roast turkeys, mounds of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, deep bowls of buttered peas, silver boats of thick rich gravy and cranberry sauce and stacks of festive crackers. And those really were a nice touch, clearly traditional magic. They went off with a blast like a cannon and, when Riko opened one with Vi, engulfed their end of the Hufflepuff table in a cloud of thick blue smoke. From the inside exploded a brilliantly ragged-looking tricorn that Riko immediately adopted to make herself a dread pirate captain. Up on the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard’s hat for a flowered bonnet and was chuckling at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey had their heads together, their shoulders shaking with laughter, while Professor Snape looked almost mellow. His occasional comments in their direction were obviously at least part of what they found so funny, although he seemed mostly content to watch. Probably pleased with the potential for blackmail material around him, Riko suggested to Vi, then just about fell down laughing when her friend nearly broke a teeth on a silver sickle embedded in her slice of Christmas cake.

They watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek. To their amazement the deputy headmistress only blushed and giggled, setting the top hat she had adopted for today to twitch until it was lop-sided. Madam Hooch beside her was laughing loudly and clapping her shoulder, then leaned over to talk in her ear. When they at long last left the table, they were too full to do anything but collapse on Riko’s bed and fall asleep. They spent the next day relaxing and digesting, which wasn’t as easy as one might think on account of a staggering tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifles, and Christmas cake. At least they had a chance to read a little in their new books, curled up on a corner couch in the Lair. Riko had seen some of the few remaining older students of her house hang out with definitely non-Slytherins in there already, and indeed, no one made any mention of it, if they even noticed. The older students were usually quite occupied, either with school work or each other, which was just as well. Riko wouldn’t mind if nobody really noticed the two of them, and gladly accepted Vi’s invitation to sleep in Hufflepuff again.

She simply wasn’t used to celebrating, at least such holidays, or rather not like this, that was it, she decided. After all, to do any sort of celebrating you had to have people around you who wanted to celebrate, and more exactly, for those kind of holidays you needed some sort of family around to celebrate them. Not that Riko felt she’d missed out, she did after all meet lots of interesting people and got to celebrate all sorts of other things with them. But this kind of very locally focussed, perhaps even stuffy, holiday felt oddly unfamiliar. She had of cause celebrated with her family, before, but she was glad she had Vi around to spend it with, instead of working on not brooding or distracting herself. Riko hoped Vi got something out of it too, but then, spending this sort of holiday with people you didn’t really care for had to be a real bother, so perhaps it was just as well that Vi had Riko around instead of her usual family. The Hufflepuff girl certainly seemed to enjoy herself so far.

Next day they woke early, giddy with excitement. It was the 27th, after all. Riko hurried to check the potions supply closet, which still hadn’t been used, and then dragged Vi off to breakfast in a hurry. She was rather glad to see Professor Snape already there, and after a quick meal asked politely if she could turn in her composition now. He was reading what looked to be a magazine on potions research and only nodded distractedly, not even glancing up when she put her roll of parchment beside his cup of tea. The only other occupants of the table, Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall, were talking to each other in low voices and Riko grinned at Vi as they hurried away.

Just to be sure, they obscured themselves as they headed out towards the Three Broomsticks, by way of Womping Willow and Shrieking Shack. When they reached the pub it was just opening and they greeted Madam Rosmerta with a wave and a grin before hurrying to the Floo, this time calling for “The Latch”, Edie’s home. When Riko stumbled out of the enormous fireplace, she was first reminded of the feeling she’d had entering Abraxas’ in Diagon Alley, a sort of stretched but stable quality to the space. They’d arrived in a big, inviting room, obviously the entrance hall and waiting room for those customers of Edie’s parents that had patients handy enough for the Floo.

Numerous wide armchairs were spread around the room, the pale yellow of the irregular flag-stones literally glowing in the light. To their right were two windows in somewhat bendy walls, ahead-and-to-the-left was a steep stair leading upwards, with a window along it’s side, and each of the four walls had a somewhat different door in it. The ones to the left and right obviously led outside, thick, heavy wood, dark with age, and a small grilled window each, showing bright snowy light. The one in the wall ahead was sturdy-looking, reddish wood with brass strengthening, while the one directly beside the fire place, to their left, was brighter wood, just as well-made but two-winged. At present they were the only ones in the room, as they looked around curiously, cleaning their sooty feet on the door- or rather floomat. Then a slim, sandy-haired man in a wildly chequered shirt opened the two-winged door, looking curiously at them only to be nudged to the side by Kean.

“Hah, told’ya that’d be them,” the kid grinned at Riko, bounding up to them like a playful puppy. “Edie said you’d likely come together.”

Feeling Vi shift beside her, Riko grinned back playfully and did an inner facepalm. Great thinking of her..Not! Next they’d ask if they were staying together! But she was after all not born yesterday either.

“Hey there! Yeah, we had something to do before coming here, top secret for now..” she winked conspiratorially. It was close enough, Riko thought.

They had after all had to go all the way from Hogwarts to the Three Broomsticks, get by the Willow without being noticed by anybody, and relock the Shack behind them. The man gave them a thoughtful look, reminding Riko so much of Edie she was quite sure he was her father. He noticed her looking at him and cleared his throat with a small, self-deprecating smile.

“Welcome to the Latch, then. You’re Riko and Vi, right? Edie’s been talking ’bout you non-stop.”

“Pa-pa!” Edie squeezed by him, poking him in the side. “Don’t listen to him, come in the kitchen and hang up you coats, and we can have tea and platzerl. Amy oughta be here soon, too, and you can hear arrivals best from the kitchen cause the chimney’s right against the bench..” she didn’t even wait for any comment, simply dragging them after her.

Her father didn’t seemed to mind, holding the second wing of the door open for them with a tolerant smile and closing it after them. The kitchen, though far from small, was getting quite full with the entire family and guests. After a bit of chaos, they managed to officially and properly introduce themselves to Mr Eohyrde and Eleana, who insisted that Lea was fine enough. It did fit, with her short, light hair and her content, confident manner she did call to mind a lioness.

Then the guests were hustled onto the corner seat at the giant wood table, given mugs of steaming tea and honey, and told in no uncertain times to try the different, colourful biscuits. Riko was a little overwhelmed, not quite used to this sort of situation, and she could tell Vi was a little dazed as well, but it was actually quite nice. Edie’s people didn’t require much from their guests, content to talk easily among each other or tell entertaining family stories.

The back of the bench was squat against the back of the fireplace from the entrance room, and pleasantly warm and comfortable, as was the entire, square-ish room. A massive counter ran along most of the wall, while an impressive, many-shuttered stove lurked in a corner, between large, bright windows on either side. Riko felt for her sense of south, keen to get to know this place. The stove pointed north, which set one window north-east and the bigger, parted one, that ran behind the sink, north-west. There were also two other doors, to the right and sort-of-across the entrance they had just used. Edie noticed Riko looking around with curious eyes and smiled.

“I’ll give you a tour later, but I wanted to wait for Amy.”

“I think I can try to hold my curiosity back that long..” Riko gravely assured her, making Vi and Edie snort with laughter.

This triggered a new attack of puppy eyes from Kean, who wanted to know, right now, oh please, what top secret things they’d been doing. Riko thought he had either learned from Edie or it ran in the family, either way it was masterfully executed. With a laugh she thanked herself for being well prepared.

“Oh, alright, I kinda forgot, actually. Edie, can you give me my bag? Or, well, just the package in the front pocket’ll do..” but Kean had already wriggled to where their rucksacks were lying beside the bench and bent down, almost falling down in the process.

When he rose with a gleeful grin he waved the small package with pride, as if he had battled wild monsters to get to it. Riko waved at him to open it. “We got it as a sort of thank you, for being invited,” she said to the table at large, then gave Vi a small, innocent smile. It was true, after all, they had bought it at a corner stall at Marjinn-to-Sartor as a present for when they’d visit Edie. The implications people would draw weren’t their responsibility, right? Vi gave her a very small raise of her eyebrow but nodded, clearly amused by the enthusiastic way Kean opened the wrapping.

It wasn’t anything impressive, really, a set of brass-and-copper rings with charms engraved in them. You put them on a branch or candle and, activated, they sent forth small animals made up of silvery-white light. Vi poked them each with her wand to demonstrate, and in moments they had a ghostly hedgehog, small owl, and squirrel ambling about the table, peering into mugs and climbing the big plate of biscuits that everyone called platzerl. Edie’s people were amused and thanked them, insisting they needn’t have gone to the trouble but obviously pleased nonetheless. Then there was an audible whoosh from the chimney, which was Amy arriving from the Leaky Cauldron, and the rest of the day passed very quickly for some reason.

Edie showed them around the house, which was actually some very small cottages and/or stables grown together, they watched the Princess Bride, had sandwiches, tea, and more platzerl, and of course went outside. Edie showed them around again on their impressively big piece of land, populated by a number of sheep, two dogs (Sam and Frodo), two ponies (Sina and Sarah), goats, chicken, bees, cats (most notably the giant, fluffy Fritz), and whatever patients were currently in.

There were groves and stables of all sorts, to play hide and seek in; the deep snow had turned the meadows into wide, white plains and invited to build forts and start snow battles; the Pond, which was really more of a small lake, Riko thought, and the Puddle, which in turn one might usually call a pond, were frozen solid. It was only logical, really, to start an improvised game of footie on the Pond, and later use the Puddle as no man’s land between their forts.

They warmed up with tea again, and platzerl, and blankets in the living room with it’s cosy fireplace, and played cards and dice and even some wizarding chess, with Edie’s set and the one Amy had got from Vi and brought along. At some point Amy’s parents arrived, but they hardly noticed, caught up as they were in having fun.

Lea, who’d at first intended to read in the living room, got sucked into watching the Princess Bride after a while and didn’t seem to mind that ‘looking after them’ as they trooped outside had somehow morphed into ‘joining the mayhem’, including a running commentary of their chess games with Oma as second commentator. Perhaps it was because Edie’s whole family seemed rather easy-going and fun-loving. Riko did occasionally notice Edie’s father watching them, but he never said anything and he didn’t seem to suspect them of anything, just taking note. It reminded her, unsurprisingly, of Edie’s habitual perceptiveness, and she refused to worry about it. It wasn’t like they were up to something, anyway, and if they were she’d know to take it into account, now.

When the Grangers made to leave, after an extended, all-round fantastic dinner of ‘Bratn mit Knoedln’ that proved the kitchen table could indeed comfortably seat eleven people, Riko and Vi used the cover of everyone saying goodbye to everyone else to make a quick getaway to the Three Broomsticks. There seemed to be no professors at the pub today, but with the number of patrons it would’ve been hard to spot them anyway. This time they managed to reach the Hufflepuff dormitories without any trouble, and when they plopped down on Vi’s bed neither could stop a giddy laugh of triumph bubbling up. After calming down with the help of a few platzerl from the bag Edie’s father had insisted on giving them, they made plans for the remainder of the evening, or rather night.

Amy’s first question had been if they’d found anything yet, she hadn’t even bothered to say about what. Well, not surprising, actually, and Riko was quite proud of Amy for it. It wasn’t just about their search for Nicolas Flamel, after all, it was also about Edie’s lunar problem. They had to find out more, simply to know what they could do to help, and they didn’t really want to bother Edie with it, beforehand. When they admitted they hadn’t got around to it yet, they were forced to tell the story of their not-quite triumphant return on the 23rd, which at least served to amuse their friends, although they’d had to be careful to talk quietly. Now, with renewed purpose, their course was clear. They had to get some real research done, and werewolves came first.

Riko was still convinced they would find Flamel if they started some serious research on Dumbledore, and they could even ask Madam Pince for _that_ , and generally it just wasn’t as important as the chance to find way to help Edie. Besides, they both agreed, they’d likely have to look into the restricted section to find anything helpful on werewolves. Be it books that actually might be written by werewolves or books that at least included proper research on them, however gruesome, they would certainly not be easily accessible to normal students, what with the entire subject declared officially Dark. Which was just ridiculous, really, it was just an illness, well, or curse, but still. Either way they’d just have to sneak in today and get started.

As soon as they judged it late enough they were obscured and on their way. They’d almost reached the library when they became aware of footsteps trailing them. Huddling out of the way into a niche they scanned along the corridor.

At first there was nothing to be seen. Then, using her ninja-ping and concentrating on the third form of Obscurantis, Riko thought she saw something ripple along the view of the dark, empty corridor. And below it there was a pair of trainers. Riko made to point but Vi had already found it by then. Now that she had a fix on it, the strange rippling effect, like water over a window, remained and could easily be traced, but seeing through it was another matter. It was a small, slender figure, that much was easy to see, but other than the silhouette it was impossible to make out proper hints on who it was.

And thus their objective was again derailed. The figure had already passed them by and all they had to do was trail it, which was really remarkably easy. They hung back a bit when their target entered a rather narrow corridor and slipped into a room, closing the door only halfway. And it was a good thing they did. Riko had just moved to stick her head in, scanning carefully to find out what was inside, when they heard a voice that made them both freeze. It was Dumbledore, the one person who could see through their Obscurantis without apparent effort.

“So – back again, Harry?”

The figure jerked, making the cloak slide down, and they could see that it was indeed Amy’s clueless Gryffindor friend, sitting on the floor in front of a big mirror. It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. Riko though she could make out inscriptions around the top but they were to far away to read them and she sure as bloody fuck wouldn’t go in there, now!

Meanwhile, Dumbledore didn’t seem to mind Harry Potter sneaking around with what was clearly an invisibility cloak. Instead he was teaching him about the mirror, there was no other way to describe it. It was called the mirror of Erised, and for some reason Dumbledore had been lurking in the room when Potter and Weasley had been here before.

Riko wondered why Weasley wasn’t along, now, but then, if they’d already discovered it, wasn’t the real question: why come again? And, yes, it was certainly interesting that it showed Potter his dead family while Weasley saw himself as the Head Boy, but far more interesting and relevant was the news that the headmaster could become invisible, too. Apparently he really did know Obscurantis, and very well, too, and that unnerved Riko so much she almost missed the next part of their conversation.

‘The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror,’ eh? Flowery and vague, the sentence really did nothing to describe the creepy effect of an enchanted piece of glass showing whoever looked into it the deepest, most desperate desires of their heart. Riko found the very idea simply disturbing. Bad enough, in fact just plain horrible, that this damn hat had looked into her head, but her heart was her own business, thank you very much. She didn’t need some mirror to try and trick her into wasting away before it, as the headmaster was telling Potter had happened before. Riko was actually glad, well, at least a little relieved, to hear Dumbledore tell Potter the mirror would be moved tomorrow.

Perhaps she’d use the chance to see what the mirror made of her, once they’d both left. But first she got so see the headmaster’s surprise when Potter actually asked him, flat out, what he saw in the mirror. Well, alright, he knew Potter’s deepest wish, but still. It was probably a Gryffindor thing, as Dumbledore only smiled and talked about seeing himself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks, claiming he had this year again only received gifts of books. He didn’t actually seem to be lying, the cueroscope remained quite still, but Riko wasn’t born yesterday, and she’d after all spent the whole day waxing literally true evasives. The proof of this came after Potter had left.

Instead of leaving too, so that Riko and Vi might have a chance to try out the mirror at least once (Riko admitted that, despite finding it right creepy, she was perhaps just a bit too curious to just leave right away), the usually so humorous and unflappable headmaster sat himself directly in front of the mirror, looking into it with such sadness that watching it made her supremely uncomfortable.

It was a look of yearning while knowing that one cannot have (desiderium, her stupid head reminded her of the pang when she’d leanred the stupid word over the sumer). Then he leaned forward and touched his hand softly to the glass surface, speaking hoarsely. “See, Gellert, I knew you’d get on with Ari like a house on fire..” ending in a deep sigh. They were already retreating but Riko still heard the whispered “Of course, Grin, and I’m glad you like the scarf..”

They were too spooked to try and close the door but Riko put as strong a dissuasion shadow on it as she knew, feeling right terrible. She would’ve tried and sent him a pair of thick socks, too, by anonymous owl, if she’d thought it’d help. Neither Vi nor Riko talked on the way back, and they didn’t try the library again that night, either, but she thought they were both quite glad they hadn’t gotten to look into the mirror.

After waking up, though still uneasy about what they’d witnessed, they were better equipped to deal with it in the bright morning light and over a hearty breakfast. At least he hadn’t noticed them, that would certainly have been adding insult to injury. And anyway, he was old and clearly in fine spirits again, actually showing up for an atypically early breakfast and they had things to do. Certainly he wasn’t still up, and why was she even still thinking about it?

Still, they didn’t feel like starting their research into the headmaster after that, instead training their duelling and tricks, finishing what little regular homework they had, going exploring and playing cards, wizarding chess, or dice. They even got into a few games of gobstones in an empty classroom, where the stink of it wouldn’t bother anyone. And of course at night the focus was on finding anything regarding werewolves in the restricted section, a project that turned out to take up far more time than they’d initially hoped. This distraction regarding the headmaster persisted even when Edie sent Will to invite them for the first of the new year for all sorts of firework and explosion charms. They agreed, of course, and it was wildly entertaining, but they had to admit they hadn’t found anything again. This time they didn’t even have a fun story to make up for it, as neither felt like telling what they’d witnessed. The mirror was gone now, after all, so there was really no point to it.

What there was to read on werewolves, and it was really a lot, was depressing and maddening and none of it useful, so far. Werewolves are vicious, slavering monsters, the books said. Werewolves are dangerous. They crave human flesh and even when in humanoid form cannot fully control their inborn desires to maim and kill, using that time instead to mark and stalk their prey in anticipation of the full moon, at which time, transformed into their true form, they will attack. If left without human prey to feast upon werewolves will bite, gouge, and rip their own flesh apart, further demonstrating the sheer vileness of these creatures. Werewolves are not human; they are freakish half-breeds and should be locked up and disposed of, unfit for human company and society.

It made for frustrating nights and led to them starting to sleep in, shortening the time they could officially spend in the library. By the end of the holidays they were still no further, and as the practice of spending their nights in the library couldn’t work when lessons started again, they switched track to researching all things that had to do with miraculous cures.

Supposedly lycanthrophy was incurable, but so far it didn’t seem like anyone had ever really tried and, after all, miraculous should do the trick regardless. Still, it was frustrating when everyone and their cat (and owls and salamanders, and rats and toads and whatever else) returned. Riko had to find back into the hard-learned routine of daily lessons and structure, of spending three days of the week in her own house and doing continuous homework that wasn’t half as interesting as the things she really wanted to research.

It wasn’t easy. Riko only realized how quickly she had found back to her usual do-as-you-will ways, when she couldn’t invite Vi over any more, couldn’t visit and stay over with her friend, had to observe all sorts of written and unwritten rules again. It was awfully annoying, but there was at least one good thing about everyone being back, namely the surprise Vi had for them after Amy and Edie arrived. With a mischievous grin she’d tapped her wand on the small notebook, and it had, with a puff of bright orange smoke, turned into a stack of four books. Four lingua loquendi for French, to be exact. They had, all of them, reacted with extreme glee, though expressed in slightly different ways. Vi had looked eminently pleased and mentioned with some pride she knew a few of her father’s folks well enough to ask a small favour.

Now they had a new, exiting thing to learn and practice, beside their usual homework and exploring, and duelling training and wandless magic, the recurring tiffs in the hallways, when they ran into the Duck Squad, and the occasional cases of visiting Hagrid. It was a good thing, actually, because it was a nice way to distract Riko, keeping her busy and from chafing too much at the return of outside forces ruling her time. But even so the return to the student’s routine irked, and Riko often found herself impatient and bored during lessons that seemed to be made only to steal time in which she might have done other, more interesting things.

At least hanging out with her returned housemates wasn’t quite as bad, turned out Blaise, Em, and the Sorrentinos weren’t half bad at cards, proper ones without Exploding, and dice were always a nice competition of tricks, fun and educational. It didn’t really change that she couldn’t just do what she really wanted, though, which didn’t help with the persona she’d crafted for her house, namely fun and easy-going, curious and distractable, not political in the least, absent-minded at times, with lines you didn’t need to try and trace, really, bye now. If it weren’t for house days and her friends sitting with her in almost all subjects, doing their best to keep her contained, Riko might’ve easily lost a lot of points, not to mention fallen behind in her studies by completely ignoring them.

She was looking blankly at the diagram Professor Sinistra had drawn on the blackboard on a slow, unreasonably stretching Thursday afternoon, when something at last managed to really reconnect Riko to her surroundings. She was idly remembering their second visit to the Latch, this time without Amy’s parents showing up, Edie’s parents all but admitting they knew what Vi and she were doing. Mr Eohyrde had mentioned how good it was of them all to always give Edie their notes. Vi’d shrugged quietly and Riko’d tried to wave it away, saying they knew Edie couldn’t help having a bad health, and that it was a completely fair trade because she didn’t know how else she’d get through the lessons without falling asleep or screaming from boredom. He’d just sort of smiled, and then Mrs Eohyrde had come by and made spectacular whirl of green-blue fire bloom in the early dusk sky.

It had looked very much like this diagram, only it hadn’t been so damn boring. It’d also been a surprise, seeing how Edie had said her mother was a muggle, but they hadn’t wanted to be rude and said nothing. They’d asked Edie later, of course, only to learn that she’d been an actual tithe page. And made her own word of power. It was quite awesome, Riko thought. And in hindsight it explained how they, but especially Mrs Eohyrde, were at the same time so discreet and non-questioning yet perceptive, and still so direct and warm and fun-loving. Well, perhaps the cause and effect was different, but anyway, it fit.

But that wasn’t what made her sit up abruptly. It was that soon they’d have to make extra notes for their friend _again_ , and it still wasn’t like they knew much else to do for her, damn it all. Stars and shades, it was already the middle of the month! Soon it’d be the full moon again. And although they’d practised a few of the charms in the medical books they’d bought, they’d only really mastered minor pain relief, the rest was still simply too advanced. 

Riko had convinced her friends to let her scan them with her magic, but she hadn’t even managed to heal minor scrapes for them after another run-in with the Duck Squad. She’d have to ask Uncle Kal about it. She could after all see perfectly clearly what was wrong, she just didn’t know how exactly to fix it and she wasn’t going to start experimenting on them. Uncle Darshu was much better at healing, but she’d decided she wouldn’t go back there before her parents were back so she’d have to hope Uncle Kal could help her. Compared to her complete lack of the skill it couldn’t be worse, he was a high wizard, after all. But, beside that, there was another thing they absolutely had to do, and that was to make sure nobody could ever find out.

Because if Edie was to stay seven years in this place, then somebody was bound to realize, at some point, that she was always ill around the full moon. And after all the horrible things they’d read in the allowed part of the library, registration, people living like vagrants, not allowed to learn magic, unable to be employed, not to mention the gruesome books in the restricted section on how to kill or keep alive but weaken and analyse ‘such a creature’, Riko had vowed she’d never ever let that happen to her gentle, smart, and sneakily hilarious friend. They’d need a plan, run interference, break the schedule somehow, make it look like an accident or prank, perhaps, instead of a sickness, she could make a list now and then go over it with the others..

It was, retrospectively, a good thing the professor interrupted her new-found focus then, and not a few minutes later. She’d have hated to explain some very non-Astronomy notes instead of just being told to pay more attention and have five more inches added to the essay they were supposed to hand in on whatever boring planet and his moons the lesson had been about.


	16. Dungeons and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> areas below the castle are explored, that is a fact, and I am not apologizing =)

The first full moon of the year was definitely far too early but they did their best anyway. Amy and Vi had agreed they had to do something about Edie’s illness being too regularly monthly for people to keep missing it, but it would take some planning to do anything about it, properly, and they simply didn’t have enough time before the one coming up now.

It fell on a Sunday night, which was both good and bad. It meant Edie would only miss one day of lessons and less people would notice her being ill, but it also meant being ill on Sunday, which was just not a good thing, ever. Edie had at first tried to dissuade them from doing anything that might get them in trouble, but soon seen the futility of it. She was, after all, quite smart.

The Monday after was no fun, tired as they all were, but the feeling of having helped Edie was a nice compensation, Riko thought, even with Gray cornering her about her absence. He was friendly and discreet about it and, although she knew he’d been sent forward as good cop, his concerned-for-you case was shockingly convincing. Which was to say he actually meant it – ta, cueroscope, old pal – which was, as mentioned, shocking as fuck.

Riko praised all the gods, and Loki-patron-of-snakes in particular, that he let himself be appeased although he did show his full eastern corral snake spectrum. He wasn’t as scary as Professor Snape, no, but he was still damn sharp and could let this escalate badly, and she needed this settled since she wasn’t going to stop helping Edie.

So, yeah, praise Loki that he was the designated good cop who tolerantly listened to her more-or-less incoherent rambling about, in no particular order, being fine, really, not getting caught, ever, no worries, and, embarrassing but necessary, dragging her friends into it in a messy mix of defence, reassurance, and bargaining. By the end of it, Riko was so mortified she just wanted to sink into the ground, gods and spirits, why didn’t people stop her from talking, that was just the worst, really, giving her continuously more rope to hang herself with! But Gray was clearly amused and left with the implication of seeing it tolerated by the powers that be so, yeah, worthwhile.

Even so she hid for most of the rest of the evening under an Obscurantis, only seen a few times but not available for company. Not that it helped overly much with Tony, of course there was no escape on that front, but she could at least come up with some believable, literally true bits about just sneaking out with friends and an astronomy-related project. Not that she’d dare use that bit again, ever.

For purpose of distraction as well as strategy Riko accommodated any mention of Quidditch for the next two weeks: easily done with the house team playing Ravenclaw on the day of Imbolc and smart for the future, knowing professional teams and the like. And the game as such did have great potential for fun. Still, after all that effort, Riko wanted to be well prepared in advance for the next full moon, and made sure of it with the air of planning an entire war. Her now-to-be-continued interest in Quidditch had to be maintained, like a damn army dragging it’s support chain. Even Amy’s news about what Fluffy guarded under his hatch was overshadowed by her divided focus.

It was very nice and interesting that it was the philosopher’s stone, which could be used to transform any metal into gold and create the Elixir of Life, thus providing an easy way to become sort-of-immortal, yes, surely a worthwhile goal for their coup, but if it didn’t cure lycanthrophy or allow them to pose as Edie in the Ravenclaw dormitories then she had at the current moment not much interest, thank you very much. This time Edie would miss two days of lessons, Monday and Tuesday, and Riko felt like a victorious general when they managed to implicate to all-and-sundry a run-in with the Duck Squad in the corridors as the cause for Edie’s stay in the hospital wing and, in Riko’s case, her absence from the lair, as she was clearly keeping her friend company.

Riko was also trying to come up with a way to let one of them properly impersonate Edie for the time she would spend indisposed. After all, being seen during the full moon would be the best proof she couldn’t be a werewolf. But so far they hadn’t managed to come up with a really workable plan. Why did Ravenclaw tower have to have wards that worked against glamours, anyway? Stupid bloody cold-iron-based shit.

Saturday after was again a Quidditch game, Gryffindor playing Hufflepuff, and although Amy would again sit with her housemates they’d all agreed to watch out for Quirrell. They took turns, throwing occasional looks to make sure he didn’t move away or anything, but he was acting perfectly normal. Well, perfectly normal for him, which didn’t really inspire confidence, but at least he didn’t try anything actively odd. But then, Professor Snape was refereeing this time so it’d take a complete nut to even try.

The potions master was in a terrible mood and clearly determined to award Hufflepuff as many penalties as he could just to see Gryffindor lose, which made the game embarrassing and odd to watch. Not that it was a very long game. Potter caught the Snitch after just a few minutes, which was really just as well and they could all get back to doing better things.

When Amy told them the next day that Potter had overheard Professor Snape threatening Quirrell in the forest Riko’s first thought was that they could probably relax now. Then again, Quirrell was not exactly what you’d call right in the head so perhaps it was a bad idea to hope a warning would dissuade him. Riko could see her thoughts mirrored by her friends.

“Well, I’m much better with locking charms now, so we can at least try to have a look if it’s still there, yeah?” she grinned at them. She could see Amy and Edie argue with themselves, curiosity and fun versus caution.

“You really are a bad influence, you know that, right?” Edie drawled after a moment with an impish smile, obviously ready to join up.

Amy laughed softly. “It’s an adventure and it’s for a good cause. Who could say no to that?”

Vi only flashed her a sharp grin and they decided to do the expedition on Friday night. That way they could sleep in afterwards and try a second time if they were interrupted. They weren’t, interrupted that is, but they didn’t get to see the stone, either. At least they could be relatively sure it was still safe. It went like that.

Edie used her copper flute to keep Fluffy asleep and Riko managed, after a bit of work and fiddling, to unlock the charm on the hatch. There wasn’t even an alarm protocol, which was just shoddy workmanship, really. Then they were looking in the hole, only to see nothing at all. Not even Riko could see anything, and when she took a small pebble from her pockets and cast a light charm on it before throwing it down it disappeared after less than a yard.

There was obviously some magic at work here and they didn’t even hear it hit the bottom, though it was admittedly a small pebble. Riko had brought a rope, because no matter what else you did or didn’t take along you had to have a rope on an adventure, but it would do them little good here. They had no clue what was down there, after all.

“Well, alright, who volunteers to levitate me down a bit?” Riko grinned at the immediate protests. “Oh, relax, I’m best equipped here to check it out first. You aren’t as good with seeing in the dark or looking through invisibilities, so..”

Edie was still playing the flute and would have to continue doing so to keep their retreat clear, so Amy levitated Riko down a bit while Vi stood ready as backup.

“Riko, if I can’t see you the charm will fail!” whispered Amy after only a few seconds. Riko was just about three yards down and she still couldn’t see a thing, only inky blackness. She muttered a curse and gestured for Amy to bring her up again.

“Alright, we do it like this.” Riko thought a moment. “It’s not exactly great, but we each levitate ourselves down. I go first, Vi and Amy you stay a bit above me, so you can still see me. I see further, so if there is anything I have a better chance to warn you in time. Edie, is it alright if we leave you here without backup?”

The Ravenclaw girl nodded, still playing the flute. They had after all locked the door again and cast Scutum Strepiti on it for good measure so it should be safe enough. Unless Quirrell chose now of all times to try it again, but that was rather unlikely and couldn’t be helped. The chances of something unpleasant lurking down there was much higher.

The plan worked admirably, allowing them to remain in the air and manoeuvre themselves down into and close to the North wall of a cave that had to be miles below the school. It was important to move to the wall and not just land, because Riko could see a mass of vines and creeping tendrils cover the floor, even stretching up towards them.

When they’d landed by the only exit from the cave, after tediously trailing along the wall to find it, they took a deep breath. Amy let a Lumos ghost over the ground. From the way the creepers retreated from the light it was most likely a Devil’s Snare. They shared a look. This could have been nasty. From the post stamp sized square of light far above them, soft echoes of Edie’s flute were drifting down.

Riko yelled up a short “Alright!” and they hurried into the corridor. It sloped downwards and went on for quite a while, only the sound of occasional dripping around them. Riko would’ve bet good money they were moving under the lake. They walked closely by each other, tense, curious, and worried about what might be the next trap or guard, but it turned out they needn’t have worried.

At first they heard a sort of fluttering sound, then they saw light ahead of them. Advancing in a tight group with Riko point they found themselves in a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy, wooden door.

Looking around intently, trying to spot what might be the trick here, Riko saw that it wasn’t actually birds. It was keys, keys with wings. Cautiously they edged forward, wands out, but the keys didn’t pay them any attention. They reached the heavy wooden door and Riko wasn’t surprised at all to find it locked. Certainly one of the fluttering keys would let them in but from what she could see they’d be about as cooperative as a herd of wild Snitches.

Judging from the lock plate and handle they would have to look for a big, old-fashioned one, in silver. And when she checked it with a little cantrip, just to make sure, she knew they’d have to do without the key, if they wanted to remain unnoticed. It was pure silver, magically charged. Concentrating on her Demon Eyes Riko let her gaze wander about the cave, looking for other clues, but she only found three brooms that had some sort of alarm on them.

Well, even without that they might as well be stones. While they were all halfway, or in Vi’s case seriously competent on a broom, none of them were good enough to catch one single key in this setup. They could’ve got Edie down here to try her luck, the Ravenclaw being the most relaxed on a broomstick, but now, with the silver, they couldn’t.

Hoping for the best she carefully concentrated on slipping a tendril of shadow through the very narrow crack under the door, only to have it physically repelled. The locking spell actually had the door moulded to the floor. Amy knocked lightly on the wood, then turned ghostly and did the same again. It even sounded the same. Riko let careful tendrils of magic whisper along the sides of the wall and the others tested the waters there, too, but whoever had done this, in all probability Professor Flitwick, knew what they were doing. The entire side of the room was overlaid and linked into a barrier, the only point of opening being the door. Well, Riko hadn’t come completely unprepared.

She squinted at the lock and used a few small cantrips to sound it out first, not keen to have her lockpicks melt in the lock. After some trying and wriggling around with different skeleton keys and picks Riko leaned back with a frustrated sigh. As she had no intention to just try and blow the lock irreversibly open they’d have to come back. At least it’d allowed her to notice one really fantastic, finnicky Charm: a trap that would trigger some sort of alert if the correct, or rather the original key was used. So much for maybe equipping Edie with a properly warded mitten, then.

Amy and Vi had watched with interest and patience, something Riko appreciated, but at her sigh their faces fell. She took out her small notebook and started taking down details and a few diagrams regarding the charms and their points of interlock and what she’d learned about the rather intricate mechanics and guards against picking with one hand while verifying some of them with a few directed cantrips and pokes from the other hand, just to check she had all the variables and absolutes down right.

“Sorry, I’ll need some serious, specialized preparation for this one. It’s a rather tricky lever lock to start with and there’s loads of spellwork embedded, too, to check the key and such. It’s really brilliant, fantastic even, all interlaced and smart, but still stupid enough to not let it be tricked easily. That’s art, that is...” seeing their looks she shrugged with an apologetic smile. “’least it hasn’t got a trunnion, that’d be tedious to work around.”

“I don’t know if I should be disturbed by how much you know about that sort of thing or by how much I want to know it, too..” Amy smiled shyly as she said it and Riko responded with an easy smile, cautious not to make her friend too uncomfortable.

“Well, it’s an interesting hobby and very useful, I can show you some if you like.” Then she winked, aiming to tease out some levity for her sensible, law-abiding friend. “Besides, like Edie said, I’m the bad influence. It’s in my job-description, being an evil Slytherin and all that.”

Amy blinked, then snorted. “Pft, knowing stuff isn’t evil and neither are you, so you better give it up and admit you just wanna have fun..” She bumped Riko with her shoulder.

“A’right then, I admit it,” Riko grinned and pronounced with studied nonchalance “but don’tcha know, Amy, girls just-a wanna have fun..”

“Hah, yeah, that’s all they really waa-aa-aant..” Amy agreed and they laughed.

Riko caught Vi looking at them curiously. When the Hufflepuff noticed her, she drew up her eyebrow with a dry “Let me guess, muggle song again..”

“Hah, right in one, and I bet you Edie can get Lea to send us an MC. But anyway, I’ll lend you that book on locks and warding, Amy, Vi too f’you like, s’great, really, shows the completely different views of the two and trends and the fun in different mixings..”

And so, barred from success but also clear of disaster, they made their way back with a new great subject to share and that was that. Next morning they slept in, and on Sunday Amy was taken up with Weasley’s birthday. Riko started digging properly into the areas her book had only mentioned in passing, imbuing of charms (what sorts, the different ways) on locks (and their different makes, not just types but also materials) and keys (what could be a key, what can they do and/or carry) and also metals in general and the properties of silver specifically, and in different circumstances and context.

She also had to ask around, carefully and without drawing too much debts or attention, where one could order some of the materials she’d need. Which was actually not as easy as she’d thought. For one, she had to be careful what to ask or rather look for. No way was she going to give her project away by people figuring out what the ingredients could be used for. The other point was the cost of the actual info. Riko was on good, easy-going terms with her yearmates, yes, and they didn’t seem to mind that since the winter hols she was hardly ever in the lair or at their library tables in the time between lessons and before dinner on house days, but that didn’t mean she had a lot of credit to bargain with, so to speak, in regards to enquiries that just might be interesting.

Draco or Tony were right out, those two were so curious she’d never get away without.. paying too much for it in info, let’s say, and besides, she had the feeling they wouldn’t even have the answers she wanted. If those two wanted anything off her list, they’d just send a letter home and then get it. Not to mention certain scary ties to Lord Malfoy and, even worse, sharp as he was, their head-of-house.

Now, Slytherin _was_ very much where you’d get what you want, a hive of different ways offering itself, all depending on who you’d want, or be able to, ask. But Riko was still just a firstie, still ‘that Slyver’ at best, and with all the success she’d had in spreading her persona, she still kept her contacts pretty much to her own year. In all, this left her with the set of people she spent even less time with on account of them being less pushy and curious.

It also left her with less to bargain with, yes, but also, in a way, with prices less hm, personally steep, comparatively. She’d had to work it and it’d taken a while for their card-games to include as casual and cheerful an amount of tricks as their rounds of dice, but it had, and that turned out to be a good thing indeed. After some careful questions and negotiations over some hands of cards, some cups of dice she got what she wanted. In time, far too much time if you asked her, but patience was key here, for a few wins, tricks, invisibly delivered notes, and the likes, Blaise, the Sorrentinos, and Farrah, named her a few trusty suppliers of very generic goods.

Like “just some _fun_ ingredients, for testing y’know..” and “I was thinking about playing around with charms on different powders, sand vs colour pigments vs metals, that sorta thing” and “Korra is getting real fickle about food and see, her feet are a bit rough and I thought about trying a few different oils and such for her, see, her feathers look a bit too matté..”

Riko doubted they bought all of her supposed reasons but that was fair enough. She hadn’t expected them to and they didn’t keep digging, as Draco or Tony would, and the conclusions they would draw were peaceful enough, in a general pranking sort of way. Of course now she did have to test at least a few potions and do a few pranks using powders, but, hey, at least one thing their stupid, continued trouble with the Duck Squad was actually good for.

So, yes, it took a weeks and _weeks,_ but one after the other she could start ordering supplies, even if she had to bury part of her real targets in a list of cover-ups and entirely postpone others. But there was still lots to research before she could start to really work it anyway. Mostly the metals and some powders for dusting or keeping things separate or, alternately, linking separate materials together, often in combination with certain oils. She had already bought a small tool kit over the summer so she had a solid starting point there.

Vi had named her a few suppliers too but warned her to be very careful and Riko was going to stick to that. The Hufflepuff had also agreed to sacrifice one of her griffin feathers when Riko was ready but that would take a while yet. It was very interesting, so much so that she was in perpetual danger of being sidetracked, but it was also immensely complex, each single thing unravelling into another knot of others things to research, find books for, and learn.

She asked occasional questions about some aspects of it in Charms, some in Potions, but there was only so much you could ask without spelling out what exactly you wanted to do and Riko’s problem wasn’t the general interaction, mostly, but the very particulars. At least her concentration on making the questions seem somehow connected to the lessons earned her a few house points. Then, suddenly, the full moon was looming on the calender again and Riko wanted to tear out her hair in frustration over being not one step closer to doing more for their friend than a little distraction in the night and notes from their lessons.

Amy had said there might be a potion to help but she also had to help her two Gryffindor friends out and she was still searching for cures and they still had their usual amount of crazy and training and projects to deal with. Also, unlike Riko, who was content to just pass her classes and learn whatever else interested her (and honestly grateful to learn French with such fine company), the others had their own, good reasons to want to do well.

Amy was set to prove a point against all who’d think less of her for being muggleborn, beside being incredibly curious on their subjects and naturally brilliant to boot. Vi had familial expectations to deal with and though she never went into detail Riko suspected serious trouble at home if she didn’t deliver. And Edie, beside being honestly interested in nearly any book put before her, wanted to show it had been a good decision to let her come to here, illegal werewolf that she was, and that she was just fine and they needn’t worry to her parents.

But even with her grades of only middling importance there were simply not enough hours to the day, Riko decided, only she didn’t have time to research that too and when she told the others they just laughed and told her to get some more sleep. Pft. Prime reading time, that! Perhaps she’d find something on stretching time in the holidays, summer, not spring, because there was a full moon at the start of those and it was just one week and she still wasn’t finished with the research for the blank she’d need for the lock and..

Well, alright, perhaps sleep was sometimes necessary. Falling asleep while sharing a table with her friends in the library was just not conductive, she admitted it already, had everyone laughed enough now? No, clearly not.

It was Friday the 13th, always an auspicious day, when they made for Hagrids hut for lunch. They were bringing food, too, not like they were barbarians, just expecting him to feed them whenever they stopped by. It was actually rather the other way around. They’d hardly seen him in a while, so busy had they been with all their crazy projects, and yesterday’s incident (alright, Riko admitted it had been a bit funny) combined with the date had triggered a forced break from their insane routine.

When they knocked on his door they were surprised to see all his curtains and windows closed although Hagrid usually enjoyed a stiff breeze of fresh air. He also called a tense “Who is it?” before letting them enter and shut the door quickly behind them. It was stiflingly hot inside, a big fire blazing in the grate.

Hagrid offered them tea and hedgehog sandwiches, which went surprisingly well with the onion soup the house elves had given them. They chatted over more tea and nibbled some cheese crackers but he was clearly not his usual, good-naturedly focussed self. After what she thought was a polite amount of time Riko asked him if he was feeling alright. He was after all their friend and if he had any sort of trouble they’d help him out gladly.

First she’d wondered if he was just a bit under the weather but as he distractedly mumbled something about “Yes, fine, everything fine,” he was absently ladling flour into the sugar pot. His eyes were repeatedly darting to the fire now. Riko followed the direction with a look of her own. When he noticed her gaze Hagrid rose hastily, moving to stand before the fireplace.

“So, anyone fer fresh tea?” he said, suddenly pale under his enormous beard.

“Hagrid.. you just made fresh tea a few minutes ago..” Riko stood to look around him, but Edie had a better view from her seat beside Amy.

“Is that..Hagrid, that’s a dragon egg?!” she exclaimed.

Hagrid looked both pleased and flustered, wringing his hands. “Err, well, y’see..”

At Edie’s words Riko had moved quickly and was now eyeing the huge black egg lying in the heart of the fire closely with a gleeful grin.

“Really?! A real dragon? That’s fantastic, Hagrid! What sort? Will they breathe fire?”

Her obvious enthusiasm seemed to bring back Hagrids own and he crouched beside her like a massive boulder, stacking some more wood around the enormous fire.

“Aye, that they will, most of ’em can, after a fashion. I looked it up, s’a Norwegian Ridgeback, they’re rare, them. Their fangs’re pois’nous too, know ter look after ’emselves, they do..”

“Whoa..” Riko was actually at a loss for words. A real dragon, well, not yet but soon!

“Where’d you get it from? It must’ve cost you a small fortune..” Even Vi was obviously curious and impressed.

“When’s it gonna hatch, do you know? What’ll they eat? You’ll tell us when it start to hatch, right? So we can see? Oh, this is fantastic, do you know how soon they’ll learn to fly?” Riko couldn’t contain her excitement. This was just too great, really. Surely if they were raised by Hagrid they could live in the forest without breaking everything and they could have all sorts of grand adventures with them and..

Hagrid chuckled and went back to the table. “I won it at cards, Hog’s Head’s great like that.”

He looked enormously pleased, and Riko couldn’t help but agree. So much for people who claimed playing cards only led to trouble! She bounded over to sit beside Vi again, munching a cheese cracker to keep her mouth occupied and let Hagrid answer their questions. Later, as they made their way back to the castle, Riko’s high spirits didn’t make her miss the worried looks her friends traded.

“Alright, what’s up with you? I’m noticing a lot of worry fogging around and it’s making me itchy! How can anything that includes a dragon make you worry?”

They exchanged looks as if she was a raving lunatic. Riko stopped and turned to face them, arms crossed. They seemed serious so she looked at them expectantly. “Well..?”

“Riko, Hagrid lives in a wooden house...” Amy started and Riko was just about to answer that the thick logs of his hut could certainly handle a little superficial fire-snorting when Vi added.

“Dragon-breeding has been outlawed, I think in the Warlocks’ Convention of 1709, which is why there’s a strong black market on eggs. You usually have to pay a fortune to get your hands on one. I wonder who Hagrid played with to win one!” Vi looked serious and thoughtful, but Riko was mostly confused.

“What does that have to do with anything? Hagrid’s not breeding, that’s way before the egg-stage. He’ll just raise one for a while. I really don’t see the problem. Surely with Hagrid teaching them the dragon will turn out alright and anyway it’s really no one’s business.”

“No one’s business.. err.. Riko, that term, dragon-breeding, includes keeping them in your back yard, too. They’re just too conspicuous, what with the statute of secrecy, and besides they’re really dangerous. They’re near impossible to tame and really vicious..” Edie explained, sensing that Riko was missing some important facts, but it only made it worse.

“Well, of course you can’t keep them, that’d be ridiculous. But it’s no ones business if he chooses to host one, even if they’re still young...” It made just no sense at all, next they’d ask if the sun was bright or something. It seemed they were just as confused as she, at least, which was only fair. Just the idea of taming one was ludicrous and.. wait a second..

Understanding of what exactly they were on about dawned at about the same time as the others seemed to catch on about what she was talking about. Riko was shocked, utterly and completely pole-axed at the very idea. She tried to be calm and get it, but really, what in the four winds..?

“You mean to tell me,” she started out quietly, with an effort reigning in her temper, “that dragons are effectively outlawed? Because wizards can’t keep them as _pets_? What the bloody..?” Riko took a deep breath. “Of course you can’t keep them, you can’t _keep people_ , or a hurricane or tsunami either, but you still wouldn’t catch anyone trying to outlaw them! That’s just stupid, and no way to get on good neighbourly terms, either!”

Riko didn’t even bother to mention the sheer insanity of trying to put any sort of laws on one of those primal embodiments of magic, it went without saying, seriously..

Edie shook her head, gesturing weakly. “I think we’re talking about different things here, Riko. Asian dragons may be different, but European dragons are classified as beasts and they’re really dangerous and unpredictable. It’s just not safe for anyone when they go where they want, it’s better for everyone if they stay in their reservoirs..”

Suddenly Riko remembered very exactly Ollivander mentioning dragon heart strings, and she knew other bits of them were used in many potions, and she wondered how in the blazes she’d managed to ignore it all. She felt suddenly almost faint, perhaps the sandwiches at Hagrids had been a bit off, her stomach was doing funny things. These.. these people were treating dragons like they were some sort of volatile cattle, how was this possible?! And her friends actually thought that was alright! Perhaps unfairly but purely instinctively Riko’s temper rose with a vengeance.

“Ah, of course, they’re just beasts, are they? Dangerous, vicious monsters, should be kept locked up and put down if they make trouble, that so? Sound like someone else, perhaps?” Riko’s voice was sharp and cutting as she threw the words back in Edie’s face.

She could see them hit home, too, and immediately felt like a cad for hurting her friend like that, but she continued stubbornly, intent to make her point at least, now that the harm was already done.

“That’s complete and utter bullshit, as is the idea that Asian dragons are somehow fundamentally different! It’s like saying the Patils or that Li girl or even I were somehow fundamentally different and it’s alright to declare us beasts and use as for parts!”

With a frustrated hiss she raked her hands through her hair to calm down. “This bloody law and everything connected to it is rubbish, complete bloody fucking bollocks. Either the dragons have long since found a way to completely ignore it, not like humans would ever find out,” she gave a sharp, hateful grin at that and then continued with much less humour.

“Or wizarding Britain is the most disgusting bunch of slavers ever found, and I will make sure to light the fire and watch it all burn to the ground, ’cause if there’s one thing you should never ever do, it’s piss of more’n one dragon..”

She could’ve gone on but at their stunned looks Riko clenched her jaw shut. She’d probably done enough damage already with her outburst. Turning back towards the school she wrapped her arms round herself.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to explode.” She looked down, scuffing her shoe against the ground. “Sorry Edie, I didn’t mean to..” she gestured weakly, “..be an ass.”

There was a moment of tense silence then Edie huffed a sigh. “S’alright. I think we best get to our place and bring each other up to speed, though. And then we see what we can do about Hagrid, because I can tell you one thing: he won’t be able to keep any sort of dragon and if we don’t do something he’ll be in so much trouble you can’t even imagine.”

The way back was uncomfortable and quiet, but when they were in their room Edie sat beside Riko and nudged her with her shoulder to lean against her. It seemed Riko was forgiven. They talked quite a while and from what she learned, it seemed to Riko the dragons were just humouring wizards and most likely there were a number of wizards who knew the truth, namely those who worked with them.

It was at least one worry removed, even if it still left a bad taste. But regardless of that, they now had to make sure Hagrid wouldn’t get into trouble. They all knew their friend wasn’t able to be inconspicuous when he tried, and Amy knew that Potter and Weasley wanted to visit him over the weekend - and those two were at least as bad as the gamekeeper.

Consequently the people most likely to find out were Riko’s yearmates, well, Draco’s group. Hagrid had, as far as they knew, little direct contact with other students, but getting Potter and his friend into trouble had become something of a sport for Draco’s lot, and thus any sort of odd behaviour implicating Hagrid would spring their radar immediately. At least they knew of it ahead of time so Riko soon had a workable plan to head off disaster in that respect.

Other than that all they could do for now was hope the dragon would hatch quickly and soon be able to leave Hagrid and not be discovered by anyone in the mean time. No problem. Really, it wasn’t like they had anything else to do, now was it? Haha. Hah.

When Riko entered the lair this evening, visible and well before curfew, she headed straight for Draco and Tony, plopping down on the couch with a cheerful grin. “Oi, away with that Defence-rubbish, I’ll trade you a fantastic secret,” she said then paused, watching their ears pick up and expectations grow. “Alright, now, you can’t let anyone else know..”

Despite the number of things still to be done, Riko went to bed this night with the warm feeling of a job well done.

*

The dragon hatched on the day before the full moon.

The Slytherin first years had the first period free, leaving Riko free of attendance duties for breakfast and grateful her yearmates liked to sleep in. She had dragged Edie to the Hufflepuff table despite it being a Wednesday. Her friend looked about half dead on her feet already, but if she was dragged away by some Slytherin before ending up in the hospital wing then Edie’s housemates would hopefully draw their own conclusions.

Then a small, brown-sprenkled owl nearly landed in Edie’s bowl of porridge, bearing a hastily scrawled note that simply read _it’s hatching_. Glancing over to the Gryffindor table, Riko could see Potter’s flashy white owl just flying off. Amy caught her looking and scowled, then turned back to her two Gryffindor friends, arguing and emphatically shaking her head.

Riko had a feeling she knew what it was about, namely the same thing she’d have to ignore protests about from Edie, just the other way around. It was really nice of Amy to guard their back like that, even at the possible cost of her own chance to see the dragon hatch. But then, surely she’d find a way to catch up, no way she was gong to miss that. Vi took the note and then put it in her pocket, sharing a look with Riko.

Edie gave a tired sigh and her “Alright, alright already, I’ll come with peacefully..” had Riko grin warmly at her. Of course Edie wanted to see it, too.

They hurried to make a stealthy exit and, together with Hagrid, hovered over his big table as the egg shook and rattled, small cracks appearing all over it’s shiny black surface. Their anticipation and appreciation of the first real sounds of scratching was rudely interrupted when someone knocked on the door. For a second no one moved then Hagrid hastily bustled over, calling an anxious “Who is it?”

Riko, Vi and Edie shared a panicked look, hastily drawing together and obscuring themselves as Hagrids back was turned. Vi put a silencer and Edie a separate Obscurantis on the egg and Riko gave them an appreciative smile and thumbs up. Then Amy answered and they relaxed, letting the spells on the egg fade away. They drew away to the side as Hagrid quickly let the three Gryffindors in with an excited “It’s nearly out!”

As soon as the gamekeeper had ushered his new guests inside he looked around confusedly, opening his mouth as if to ask where the old ones had gone, but Amy headed him off like a pro. She asked if he had everything ready and was he sure it was safe and after a few moments of looking vaguely puzzled he gave her a wide smile and softly shook his head before answering.

Then everyone, visible and invisible, was focused on the egg. Something was moving inside; a funny, clicking noise was coming from it. There was a sudden, scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped on to the table in a heap. They resembled a crumpled, black umbrella. They had wings, spiny and huge compared to their skinny jet black body, and a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns, and bulging, orange eyes. They sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of their snout. They was fantastically adorable.

“Isn’t he beautiful?” Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon’s head. They snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

“Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!” said Hagrid.

“Hagrid,” said Weasley, “how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?”

Hagrid was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from his face – he leapt to his feet and ran to the window, nearly bowling over Riko, Vi, and Edie.

“What’s the matter?” Amy asked.

“Someone was lookin’ through the gap in the curtains – it’s a kid – he’s runnin’ back up ter the school.”

Potter dashed out the door then, to look, too. When he came back in again, he looked as miserable as Hagrid. “It’s Malfoy,” he pronounced as if spelling out their death sentences.

Riko almost sighed with relief. She had no idea how he’d found out it would hatch now of all times, he hadn’t been at breakfast after all, but at least she knew he wouldn’t spill the secret. Meanwhile the Gryffindors were being herded out by Hagrid, who grimly pronounced they had to be in their classes or else people would start asking what they’d been up to. Riko thought it was a bit late to worry about that. As soon as the door clicked closed after them she cleared her throat, making Hagrid wheel around with astounding speed though he looked half dead of shock.

“The bloody..” he managed weakly, leaning heavily against the table, where the dragon had curled up into a small heap of black folds and was watching them with glowing eyes.

“Sorry, Hagrid, didn’t mean to startle..” Riko gave him a soothing smile. “Listen, you just forget about Malfoy, yeah? He won’t tell on you, you have my word on that...”

Hagrid was looking like he very much wanted to believe, but was currently far too unsettled to be sure of anything at all. “But, you.. Riko, he’s a Malfoy, they’re all.. I mean.. what ’ye gonna do?” he blinked, then seemed to gain some ground, mastering himself. “Why’re you even still here? Ye need to be at yer lessons!”

He might as well have said “You can’t be here when the law shows up, you’ll catch trouble.” Hagrid was really very easy to read when stressed and Riko wondered how he had ever managed to win anything at cards, much less a dragon. To reassure him she nodded agreeably.

“Yeah, we’ll go now, won’t even be late. And you take care of your houseguest and stop worrying about Malfoy. Just trust me on this, seriously, I know what I’m doing. It’s a Slytherin thing. Alright?” She looked very seriously at him, quite out of character for her, and he nodded slowly, hesitantly, obviously still ill at ease.

“Relax, Hagrid! Riko can manage her housemates like you wouldn’t believe..”

“Yeah, and she’d never let anything happen to a friend, so stop freaking out.”

Edie and Vi’s comments and their backing her up like that made Riko feel warm, although Vi’s wording also sent a sort of needle-stab into her lungs. But she shook both distractions off masterfully and they made haste to reach their lessons. Well, Vi did, having a far longer way to Astronomy, while Riko made sure Edie was in the custody of Madam Pomfrey before heading for History of Magic herself.

Professor Binns hardly ever noticed people being late if they were silent enough. To be honest, if she didn’t have to prepare the notes for Edie, Riko would have just gone to the library to gain some ground on her other projects, as the ghosts didn’t take the register or pay any real attention to the presence or absence of students in general.

At lunch Draco was in high spirits, full of glee to have seen the dragon hatch and at least equally happy to have something to hold over Potter and Weasley’s heads. When he went on with a devious grin about their panicked looks Riko only looked at him watchfully. He got it, and appreciated she didn’t say anything, too, clearly. He probably didn’t mind much to keep them guessing about his plans, it was more fun to work with than just see them thrown out of school, Riko thought.

The next day, after another night of being only vaguely helpful to Edie, dozing through Defence in first period and nearly falling asleep again in Transfiguration, Riko thought things could really start to slow down a little, now, please. Instead they were ambushed by the Duck Squad and, upon release from Madam P’s domain, had to find out that raising a dragon was a very stressful business indeed, even for someone as massive and informed as Hagrid.

It was a full time job, which actually made a bit of sense if you thought about it, and soon the four of them spent almost all their free time helping him out. Being just a little baby, the dragon was acting out in just such a way and Hagrid, not being a dragon, had his hands full to handle him. He’d named him Norbert and was having a hard time getting his hands on enough brandy and chicken to feed him on a mix of chicken blood and alcohol.

Riko thought it a bit strange as food went, but she freely admitted to having no experience with anything like that; the youngest dragon she’d ever met had already been a few decades old, and an entirely different breed, too. Every time Norbert opened his wings it was again a mix of _so exotic_ and _so cute_.

Hagrid had the recipe from a book called From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper’s Guide, and Norbert certainly seemed to thrive on it. He tripled in size in just a week. Riko knew Draco and Tony tolerated, even shielded, her continued absence even on the supposed house-days only because they were so curious about the dragon. When she came back they were always waiting and eager for details and she knew they spent quite some time spying by the windows of Hagrids hut, waiting for Hagrid to step out and get more supplies so Riko could let them in to get to know him properly. Despite how rarely that happened they still lurked around, keen to see for themselves how he grew and fared, even through a small window.

It was adorable how they’d adopted the little dragon even if they refused to call him Norbert, having declared the name far too plebeian. After both Tony and Riko had rolled their eyes at Draco’s suggested second name, Jormungandr, and Tony vetoed Nigellus as crass and lame and Draco vetoed Atratus as the same, Merlin, he wasn’t even matté, and they only barely avoided a detour into hexing each other noses off, they finally agreed on Nox. Both clearly viewed it as a pyrrhic victory and made clear they only agreed because the other resented the name too but wouldn’t agree to their own, far superior suggestion. Neither admitted to enjoying the alliteration. Riko refrained from making any jokes or even comments on their excitable spellparent behaviour.

The two were keeping mum about it masterfully but even so Hagrid’s absence from his duties started to become noticeable, all sorts of critters and disorderly things cropping up in odd corners of the grounds. It was only a question of time until everything went to hell in a handbasket so Riko was grudgingly thankful when Amy told them of Potters idea. Weasley’s brother Charlie was working with dragons in Romania and they’d owled him, planning to send Norbert there.

It was an incredible relief to at last see a way out of the desperate situation. Riko could understand Hagrid’s horror at the idea of just abandoning the young dragon into the wild but she also didn’t want him to be sacked or imprisoned. Any contacts related to Vi’s family wouldn’t have been in the dragon’s best interests for sure and Lea had owled she had no way of finding someone both equipped and willing to help on short notice. And Riko knew enough, by now, of the current ways and lay of land, to know that neither Tony nor Draco’s folks would really help, too much us vs. them ballast.

By the second week Norbert was eating rodents of all sizes by the crate, and Hagrid was delighted to show them how he was already spewing sparks into the fireplace and able to lift almost a foot off the ground for up to three seconds by wildly flapping his wings. He still hadn’t outgrown his erratic baby temper, but he was certainly a very impressive baby.

On April the first, Norbert’s two-week anniversary on this world, Amy and her Gryffindor friends received the Go-ahead from Charley Weasley by owl. He had a couple of friends who could take the dragon to his current working place, a dragon-reserve in Romania, by broom. They’d come by Hogwarts on Saturday night and take him along under cover of darkness.The very next morning Weasley managed to get bitten by Norbert and had to go to the hospital wing after dinner because his hand was turning green around the bite. Well, small wonder, poisonous teeth, even if he was still a baby.

When Riko offered Amy to help her and Potter sneak the dragon up to the highest tower, the Gryffindor girl was acting quite embarrassed, mumbling they had a discreet way to get the crate up unseen. It took Riko a moment to remember that Potter had a cloak that made it unnecessary to worry about Amy’s still-erratic grip on Obscurantis. She gave her friend a teasing smile and told her how good it was she was discreet with her friend’s secrets but she and Vi already knew about the cloak. Edie was slightly miffed to be the last to hear about it but after a heartfelt apology she accepted they’d simply forgotten it in all the chaos that was their life.

Riko felt the few days until Saturday were both too short and too long. She longed to know Hagrid and Norbert safe from prosecution, but at the same time she didn’t want the little dragon to be just gone. He was a feral, often ill-tempered baby, but he was their feral, often ill-tempered baby. She didn’t even want to know how Hagrid would feel when his little ward was gone, it would break his heart.

Damn this idiotic law anyway. Riko could see her anger at the situation reflected in her friends. They were, all of them, tense and unable to really concentrate as they trudged through their homework, not wanting to talk about the matter as there was nothing they could do. No one suggested they do their usual training or work on one of their projects, they were just too upset to focus.

When she returned to the lair late this evening Draco and Tony were waiting for her on a couch in a mostly empty corner, between them a letter the contents of which Riko already knew, though however they’d gotten it she had no clue. She closed her eyes for moment, feeling very tired. They were both clearly anything but pleased, quelle surprise.

Riko didn’t comment immediately but something of her unhappiness and anger must have shown because they stayed silent. After a while during which they all three stared moodily towards the fire Tony mumbled something about it being better this way. Then she hastily stood and headed for the dormitories, probably to calm down a bit.

Draco didn’t say a word but his jaw was clenched tightly. As she dozed off on the couch Riko thought she caught a quiet sigh. “I’ll miss him,” she heard, and “This is so stupid..”

The next day, _the_ day, miserable, stupid Saturday, started with a crink in her neck from sleeping on the couch and continued to be utterly unpleasant. They visited Hagrid after breakfast but the air in the hut was charged with tension and Norbert reacted like any baby in such a situation. He voiced his upset with vicious screams and thrashing. They left Hagrid with apologies and prowled the grounds, looking for a chance to relieve their temper.

Having pranked Mrs Norris to try and eat a bar of soap glamoured as a fish and tripping Filch with the results of said piece of soap and some charms they were in absolutely no mood for a strategic retreat when they ran into the Duck Squad. This resulted in Edie and Vi having to stay in the hospital wing for the night. At least Pet and Mencius had to be treated by Madam Pomfrey too, though only Pet had to stay over night.

Riko though the juniper bush growing from the stocky third year’s head a brilliant victory though she couldn’t recall exactly how she’d managed it. But regardless of that she was still angry at just about everything, now including herself. What if Amy’d been hexed as badly? It was idiotic what they’d done and now she had to eat dinner at the Slytherin table in the equally morose company of Tony and Draco, as Madam Pomfrey had banned her for the day.

Halfway through the meal she’d had enough of the depressive mood. Mumbling something about the library Riko hurried off to bury herself among dusty books. She might not be able to do anything great or brilliant but she could at least do the looking-up and noting-down necessary for it. It was better than thinking of Hagrid saying goodbye to little Norbert before bundling him into a _crate_ , all the while telling him how much Mummy would miss him and.. ah, curse it.

She’d hid after the official lights-out and just continued her paging through obscure references on cures for all sorts of curses, possessions and transformations, but Riko’s mind insisted on worming it’s way back to the little dragon. And Hagrid. After about the umpteenth time of that she thumped her current book closed with a growl, it was useless anyway. Then she remembered her situation and carefully listened. Everything seemed quiet and safe but she better leave now.

It was part of her responsibility, wasn’t it, to make sure the folks that’d transport Norbert were alright, and that they really showed up and all. And she had to make sure Amy and Potter got Norbert up there. Riko didn’t really trust Potter with the task, he hadn’t even managed to be sufficiently sneaky on Christmas, and that was without a dragon along.

Riko paced silently and invisibly in the Entrance Hall, cursing first her lack of a working clock, her watch had stopped some time into the new year, and then Peeves who’d bounded up from the dungeons to play a game of tennis against the wall, which left her stuck in one of the alcoves. Once he’d left, Riko kept her eyes on the Main Entrance, concentrating on the third form of Obscurantis when she saw the door inch open.

She could make out the rippling effect of the cloak then and debated going up to head them off in case they used a side-entry on their way back. But the shortest way up was by the great stairs, if you didn’t count the hidden lift, and they had agreed that another witness, even if he was a ghost, was a bad idea. Especially because Mr Howson was, (un?)characteristically for a porter, very chatty. Not worth telling Potter of the lift. So Riko waited impatiently until they reappeared and then ghosted ahead of them to make sure the way was clear.

When she saw Draco getting caught by a wandering McGonagall in the corridor that lead up to the Astronomy tower Riko wanted to curse like a sailor. One moment everything seemed alright, then she saw two different figures moving in the darkened corridor, up ahead by a corner. There was a short grapple and a lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet, had Draco by the ear.

“Detention!” she shouted. “And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you –”

“You don’t understand, Professor, Harry Potter’s coming – he’s got a dragon!”

Draco was white as a sheet with shock, and apparently panic made him slow in the head. Or had he really been unable to come up with a better excuse? Riko gritted her teeth, intending to have a serious word with him, tomorrow. Unsurprisingly his reply only served to incense McGonagall even more.

“What utter rubbish!” she snapped, “How dare you tell such lies! Come on – I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!”

It had to be a special sort of irony, a Slytherin so thoroughly not believed when he spoke the truth, Riko thought absently, as she watched the Professor drag her housemate away, her mind already analysing the situation for potential angles.

If he had any sense at all he’d at least have the letter along as proof, pretend to have been set up. Riko’d have to make sure the two Gryffindors already ascending the stairs managed their task without getting caught, then this entire fiasco might end up a tempest in a tea cup with no real fall-out for all concerned.

She followed cautiously, staying a ways back and occasionally looking back warily to make sure nobody was coming up behind her to check Draco’s story. Even so she could hear Potter’s “Malfoy’s got detention! I could sing!” echo down the stairs. Amy’s tense “Don’t!” luckily shut him up. Gods, didn’t he know how far sound carried in any stone construct?

Riko ascended the stairs only far enough to be able to see over the last steps of the stair. Those two obviously needed someone capable to watch their backs, Loki’s nets! At least it kept her busy, guarding and scouting up and down the stairs, so that the actual leaving of Norbert became a sort of background event.

When Filch showed up and hid in an alcove adjacent to the stairs Riko quickly sent a few little glamours of whispers and footsteps towards the direction that led back to the Entrance Hall. He leapt to it with a hunger in his expression that made Riko shake her head but his slight limp lightened a small smile. Looked like he hadn’t wanted to ask Madam Pomfrey for help after his encounter with the jumping soap.

Her little moment of mirth as she traced his retreating back was dashed when she turned back to the entrance of the stairway only to see Amy and Potter amble down relaxedly. Without the cloak anywhere in sight. Not even trying to sneak. For a moment Riko thought she was hallucinating. Of course they were relieved and everything, but this.. she was actually at a loss for words, even inside in her own head.

They had just rounded the doorway and their way was towards the opposite direction Filch had taken, but still. Then Potter stumbled and Riko did curse when she saw what had tripped him. It was Mrs Norris. How had she managed to overlook the thrice-damned cat? The damn familiar shrieked in that special way only an insanely angry cat can ever manage, and Riko winced at Filch’s answering yell from behind her back.

Even worse, far ahead of the two frozen, shocked Gryffindors a light flared up. It was still way up around the bend of the corridor but accompanied by the echoes of raised voices, and clearly moving closer. With a detailed curse on the idiocy of certain parties Riko charged forward. Amy’s eyes were as big as saucers as she saw Riko suddenly appear behind them but it seemed to unfreeze her. Potter drew back, startled, but at least he kept quiet.

Riko took him by the forearm, hissed “Grab on!”, and signed the short for “Silencer!” to her friend, not pausing her steps as she concentrated on drawing up as tight an Obscurantis as she could. Mrs Norris was still screeching and made as if to claw after Amy so Riko kicked her soundly across the corridor and threw a smoke pellet, then finished the Obscurantis.

They had to run though, or else the cat, liable to spot them even through the magic, could point them out. After a few steps of dragging, Potter seemed to realize she was here to help and he kept quiet, too. If she’d been under less pressure at this exact moment, Riko might have praised the fates for that, but as it was they were still in a bad situation. Amy had grabbed onto her and had her wand out, casting her version of the Leniped charm on each of them while trying not to stumble, as Riko raced ahead at full speed.

But Filch’s enraged steps were gaining on them, catching up with his long stride. Then, identifying the voices ahead of them, Riko’s blood ran cold. It was Professor Snape and McGonagall. They were currently arguing but Riko had no doubt they would agree on one very bad thing if they caught the three of them now, namely the worst punishment in all of history. Still, they had a good chance: they just had to pass them by and let the teachers run smack into Filch, let them entertain each other while Riko delivered her bloody damn insane charges to their proper nest.

Then they at last rounded the bend in the corridor, Filch still gaining on them, and Riko had to stifle another curse. The hallway ahead was just wide enough for the two professors, hurrying towards them with a lantern in one hand and their wand out in the other. Biting her lip she dropped into quicktime. There was still a way but she’d have to get it just right.

“I’ll pull – Willow,” she hissed at Amy and then turned her head to Potter. “Follow her!”

Riko had to admit one thing, he had guts. As soon as he’d understood they were not visible to the advancing professors and that Riko had some way to get them by unnoticed, Potter threw himself along them headlong. He didn’t even hesitate when they were getting within feet of the professors. Then Riko formed the seal, with both hands for this, pulling the three of them into the shadow. It hurt even worse than down by the willow and Potter was so much heavier than Amy that Riko’s course took a sudden twist to the left.

The quicktime allowed her to appreciate this as a sort of bonus, it let their shadow flicker more realistically away from the professors’ lights, but Riko still had to correct their course and drag the insane weight, not to mention heat, of the two enormous fireballs behind her, towards the next door. After all, they couldn’t very well just pop out of the shadow behind the professors, with their Obscurantis and silencer gone.

The next door wasn’t further than maybe six yards, tops, but it felt like an eternity and not just because of the quicktime. The weight Riko had to drag along was far greater than last time, for whatever reasons, and it seemed as if the shadows themselves were slower and less willing to accommodate than out by the Willow.

When she finally cleared the crack under the heavy wooden door Riko was in agony, as if she’d been on fire for hours. At least she didn’t have any trouble pushing them out, clearly the local shadows wanted them gone. Once they’d popped back into solid reality Riko immediately let go, bending over to put her hands on her knees and trying to breathe without collapsing in a trembling heap.

They’d quickly let go of her as she bent over but then Amy put a shy hand on her shoulder. The burn of it, like blazing coal even through her clothes, focussed Riko in a way she could’ve entirely done without. She jerked back with a hiss of pain and rounded in on the two insane, moronic, idiots who were after all responsible for this mess, mad enough to spit nails.

“ _What_ in the name of all the bloody named and unnamed gods and spirits were you thinking? Are you the bloody fuck insane or did you gift your last paltry remnants of sense to Norbert as a going-away present? You complete and utter mane-heads, I should send you to your rotten, deficient ancestors so _they_ can tell you just how much of a failure you are! Not to mention I’d spare the rest of the world your complete incompetence and idiocy, you..”

Riko could’ve gone on for quite a while, no matter that her throat hurt as if she hadn’t drunk for days and her voice was only a furious, hoarse whisper. Anything louder might’ve attracted attention from the corridor anyway. But as she actually looked at them while drawing a breath, she saw they were different worrying shades of grey from shock, their backs pressed against the door behind them, all but frozen in fright.

And they weren’t looking at her, they were looking behind her.


	17. Grave Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of all the trouble a bad startle reflex can get you in.. well, alright. To be fair, there were a few others factors at play here, too..

Asked later, Riko was forced to admit she’d simply panicked. It might be hard to believe, considering how it went, but it was the complete truth. It was just that Riko’s instinctive response to feeling seriously threatened wasn’t to draw back. It was to smash whatever it was, to make it go away. It had gotten her into quite some trouble in the past and this instance was, all in all, no exception.

But back to the situation. As she noticed Amy and Potter’s distress Riko suddenly felt a cold chill close in from behind her, making the fine hair on her neck and arms stand on end. In combination with the state she was in, full of adrenaline and stress and in no little amount of residual pain, Riko thought it was quite understandable how she reacted.

Without a thought she whirled around, drawing her fangs in one quick motion. They moved in two precise arches, the right clearing the air with a swift curved cut upwards, the left in a horizontal strike ending at guard, no more than a hand in front of her centre. It was beautifully executed, Shizuka-sensei would’ve been proud. In her shock she’d perhaps pushed a little too much destructive power along the blades, usually they didn’t trail orange lightning.

That was not the problem, however. The problem was the ghost, standing just a few feet before her now. It was the Gryffindor ghost, the nearly headless one with the ruff and the tights, with his hand stretched out before him. Or rather in front of him as her fang had cut clean through his wrist.

For a few long, horrible moments the severed, ghostly hand hung in the air, as did the entire situation around it. No one moved or even breathed. Then the frozen tableau slid back into reality, gradually. From both sides of the empty space that had once been a wrist thin fog was spreading, growing thicker and thicker. It looked nothing so much like it was filling an invisible container in the form of a wrist with layers and layers of lace around it.

Riko dared to actually look at the ghost then, instead of just staring at her ahaha handiwork. No time for hysterics, now. He looked about as shocked as she felt, judging from the flabbergasted way he was still staring at his hand. There were about a dozen things, at least, that Riko could have said, warring in her head, ranging from “sorry about that” to barely coherent exclamations not to give her such a fright.

What made it through, in a desperate, breathless whisper, was, “Please don’t rat us out!”

He jerked his eyes away from his hand, his looking ghosting – oh, ouch – over Riko, behind her and back to her. The short look he threw behind her was just enough time for her to realize she still had her fangs in a ready position. As his eyes settled on her again Riko let them go as if they were burning. They fell to the ground with a much-too-loud ring that made her bite her lips and wince even as she raised her hands to show her empty palms.

He hadn’t screamed bloody murder yet so placating him with obvious signs of surrender might actually work. Besides, if he chose to get them caught there was currently not much she could do, anyway. Riko really didn’t want to think of that now, though, better focus on preventing it.

At last he moved, slowly gliding towards her and all but skewering her with a sharp look. Riko almost took a step back but behind her were Amy and Potter and she’d be damned before she let those two crazy mane-brains get into any more trouble tonight. So instead she raised her chin a bit, to better look him in the face, and took a deep breath.

“They were helping Hagrid with something important, they can’t be found out now, they’d be expelled for sure,” Riko nervously wet her lips. “They were already on their way back, so if you could please just ignore us, perhaps..?”

Oh, by all the gods and spirits, how she hated to beg! But she was in no position to bargain, she had absolutely nothing to bargain with. It was all she could do to stop herself from shivering with nerves and exhaustion, keeping a straight face as he looked at her thoughtfully. Riko almost jumped out of her skin when Amy put a hand on her shoulder from behind her, stepping up almost beside her.

“Please, Nick, we’re almost back clear. We had to help Hagrid, it’s just not right that dragons are illegal, and he’d be in so much trouble..” Amy’s tense, hushed voice trailed off uncertainly and Riko knew her friend was now biting her lips without even looking.

“Nick, please, we couldn’t not help him, could we? He’s our friend and it would’ve been so unfair if he’d gotten caught..”

Judging from the sound of his voice, Potter had stepped up beside Amy, by Riko’s other shoulder, but had wisely kept his hands to himself. For a few moments there was nothing to do but trace every little detail of the situation as Nick only looked at them. Then they all jerked to look at the door as they heard voices coming closer.

“...know it was locked, but I definitely heard something ring..”

It was Professor Snape. No one breathed as a tense moment lengthened. Well, not that Nick even could breathe but he was just as still as the three of them. Riko silently cursed her head of house’s perceptiveness and just about everything else that related to the situation at hand. Then Nick gave a short sigh and pulled his shoulders back, obviously composing himself.

He floated straight through the wall beside the door and Riko saw he had schooled his face into a distracted, absent expression. They heard startled sounds from the corridor, as if he’d passed through at least one person. “Oh, deputy headmistress, professor, my apologies! I didn’t expect visitors.. is anything the matter?”

Riko was very impressed by the sound of vague, honest puzzlement, ringing true even through the heavy wood. They’d all pressed their ears to the door and listened as he assured the teachers that no, he hadn’t seen “anything untoward” and then inquired as to what might be the matter.

Then the sound of voices was moving away, growing ever more faint. As she leaned her forehead against the heavy wood, taking a deep breath, Riko couldn’t recall, exactly, when she’d last felt so very tired. Her left hand hurt, burnt where she’d dragged bloody flamin’ _heavy_ Saint Potter through the shadows. Gathering the shreds of her tattered composure she wearily moved to gather up her fangs, mentally shaking her head at herself.

Instead of pressing her ear to the door she should’ve taken her weapons and her two charges, obscured them all and dragged them to a point from which they could exit the room quickly, to be ready in case their hunters didn’t believe the ghost. By the four winds, she’d acted as clueless as those two crazy Gryffindors! How embarrassing!

At least the two of them didn’t have anything to say either, probably still too shellshocked. Taking another long look around the room Riko stepped to the door and, careful that Potter not see it, used her Ninja-ping. Then she opened it confidently with Alohomora and relocked it once they had followed her into the hallway. The charm on the door had been strong enough to tickle the inside of her nose but comparatively simple in it’s construction.

Nobody talked on the way back. The two kept a tense hand on her shoulder but they didn’t encounter anyone. Even so, Riko drew up a fresh Obscurantis after she’d rounded a corner to be out of sight of their guarding painting. How bothersome and indiscreet, really, she liked her own house entrance much better. Riko didn’t even bother to undress before crawling into her bed, drawing up her blanket over her head.

*

Next morning saw her in much better spirits. There was definitely room for improvement, yes, but Riko thought it had all worked out pretty well. She suspected her exposure to normal society had dulled her instincts, but it was something she could work on. It was a bit late, compared to her usual time, but there should still be some breakfast in the Great Hall.

When she neared her house table Draco was sitting alone at the far end, a good few yards away from everyone else, and morosely prodding his bacon. Her eyes narrowed. She still wanted to have a serious word with him. Riko hadn’t looked very closely at the hourglasses that held the house point in the Entrance Hall but she thought she would have noticed any extreme differences to yesterday so he couldn’t have lost all that many points. Perhaps it was the shame of being caught.

Draco was silent when she gracelessly plonked down opposite his seat and started hunting the platters for bacon and onions to add to her small mound of scrambled eggs. He remained silent while she angled herself to get to a teapot instead of levitating it or standing up to get it and nearly fell down in the process. He still hadn’t said a word when she’d stirred a generous helping of honey and lemon into her tea and it was starting to worry her a bit.

Taking a deep, relaxing drink from her mug Riko looked him over carefully. He was eyeing his destroyed breakfast like it was the most interesting thing in the world, badly hidden misery written in tense lines on his face.

Riko gave a sigh and put down the mug, settling for an easy, cheery tone. “You know, I really wanted to have some serious words with you, but perhaps you better fill me in before I repeat anything you’ve heard already..”

He didn’t look up, just shrugged and heaved a sigh. “..I lost twenty us points last night..”

Riko couldn’t remember having him ever seen so miserable, and to think it was about something as silly as that – but she managed to hold back her first exasperated reply to that effect, trying to understand the situation. Clearly she’d missed another of Professor Snape’s educational addresses, else there’d be no way for Draco to admit to any sort of fucking-up.

She’d have to ask Tony, they had a deal on it, but at the moment she’d just have to be rational about it. That was usually what Professor Snape did, impress rational and civilized behaviour, which apparently many of her housemates had not learned at home before coming here. Point in case: Draco, and admittedly some others, and their initial xenophobia.

And it wasn’t hard to see the angles, here. After winning the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff Gryffindor had taken the lead for the house cup, and by a considerable margin too. Losing twenty points was admittedly a step in the wrong direction but it wasn’t exactly critical, either, and they still had lots of time to catch up. A suspicion formed in her mind.

“That’s the first time you lost any points?!” It wasn’t that hard to believe, actually, but it was still surprising. It also seemed to be not the sort of reply he’d expected, as he now stared at her. Then he nodded, obviously unsure what to say. It was such a rare sight, Draco Malfoy without his smug humour and sly wit, an actual crack in his composure.

“Well, for a first time it’s quite impressive and in the big tally it’s not that much of a dent so I’d say well-balanced,” Riko joked, taking a bite of onion and waving the fork with a grin. “’Sides, is it really twenty? Effectively I mean. Please tell me you had the letter along, prove you were set up and all? Perhaps lose some points for the instigator?”

Seeing him at a loss for words was great but to have the honour of seeing the heir of the house of Malfoy drop his fork, and his jaw, that was priceless. Riko did control her face but she knew her eyes shone with suppressed mirth and it seemed to at last move Draco back towards his old self. He snapped his mouth close and gathered some composure while taking a sip from his cup.

“You were still asleep earlier, Pansy said, and you weren’t in when she went to bed, after I was brought back down..” Clearly he was on the outs with Tony again and also hoped to reassert some authority with the controlled, even voice, but Riko only gave him an easy smile, having none of that.

“Aye, can’t say I was terribly impressed there in the corridor,” she drawled, spearing another onion with a pointed thunk. “See, if they’d been caught, not only would Hagrid lose his job and probably be sent to prison, there’s an even chance the Ministry would’ve put Nox down, you know, for being hatched without a permit and all..”

Judging from the way he paled, going even a light green, he hadn’t, and the implication left him again at a loss for words. Riko took pity then, after all it had worked out fine. She let her look soften, waving negligently with the fork.

“Well, he’s safe now. But you really need to improve your sneaking or your hoodwinking skills. I could see you as easily as McGonagall, and she’s a teacher _and_ a Gryffindor!” She gave him an appraising look. “Actually made me wonder how you even made it up there without getting caught. I’d bet good money you rode up with Mr Howson, m’I right?”

His shifty look to the side answered her question, even without him clearing his throat nervously. Before he could speak, Riko continued on with her own question. “Now, what’d I miss by seeing Nox off?”

“Oh, well, she dragged me down to Snape’s office but I had the letter along so he backed up the set-up excuse. But because they recognized the writing they still went to check it out upstairs, had to, I think. They didn’t find anything, though, and McGonagall refused to take any points from Weasley because he’s still in the hospital wing. And now I’ve got detention next Saturday night, and Snape’ll write a letter, and I doubt my father will be as amused by the whole thing as you..”

He tried to hide it behind a cup of tea but she could see how much it bothered him, that his father would learn of his failure. Sitting back, Riko thought it over while quickly demolishing her breakfast. Somehow she wasn’t surprised at the underlying tension, even traces of uneasy fear, she could sense from Draco.

Lord Malfoy probably expected a lot from his heir, and she didn’t think he had any more patience for failure in his son than otherwise. Draco seemed to guess the direction of her musings from her silence and shot her a defensive, uncomfortable look. Well, damn, Riko knew he was quite perceptive, she should’ve been more discreet about her own insights and thoughts. Now denying it from either side would only draw more attention to it.

“Well, as I said, twenty points isn’t much of a dent in the long run and there’s months to go before the end of year feast. You’re usually pretty good winning us points so stop with the moping, it’s out of character and annoying. Maybe wait a bit, or take a care when going to duelling meet,” Riko bluntly bypassed the matter. The unsaid message was clear enough. She wouldn’t comment and his father had lots of time to forget about the matter.

Riko had doubts Lord Malfoy forgot such matters, ever, and Draco’s neutral expression all but confirmed it, but he still had over two month to find a way to make up for it. Draco seemed to think in the same track and gave her a short nod, finding back to his usual manner and leaving her to finish the remains of her breakfast in peace. Or at least with only her own troubles for company. Because even with the matter of Norbert cleared up Riko still had all sorts of matters to handle and with the mess yesterday she had acquired yet another one. Riko now owed the Gryffindor spirit a debt and she rather wanted to be rid of it as soon as she could. This thought kept bouncing around her head the whole day.

First she visited Vi and Edie in the hospital wing, where she had to evade and ignore Potter’s occasional searching looks as he and Amy were visiting Ron Weasley. Later, as the two of them were holed up in the library, digging through thick, dusty tomes on miraculous cures, Amy told her that Potter had been all sorts of curious about her.

But Amy had reminded the boy-who-lived-despite-his-insanity that Riko had saved their sorry asses and not hurt anyone with her knives, and that it really was no business of his unless he wanted to expose them as well. The last had shut him up, finally, at least about Riko herself, instead he’d started badgering her about the Obscurantis, bemoaning the loss of his Invisibility Cloak, which they had completely forgot up on the tower after seeing Norbert off. Forgot. Manes-for-brains, honestly.

He’d remembered in the morning and raced up but it had been gone. By that time Amy had probably been in a right mood, Riko thought. Otherwise her friend surely wouldn’t have implied she couldn’t teach him because she didn’t know it. And although Amy made every pretence of just asking for curiosity’s sake about _mane-brains_ , not being hurt at all, or miffed, no, Riko vowed quietly to never try and seriously piss off her Gryffindor friend.

Or use that special Gryff description again around her friend. Who was, damn, Riko wanted to bash her head against the table, touchy about her brilliant mane of curls in an entirely muggle-based way, she _had_ known _that_. And Gryffs, well, clearly they were all sorts of chivalrous up until they got angry enough, after which just about anything could happen.

They went back to poking their respective books after Riko had declared it a silly, heraldry-derived Gryff insult, apologized, promised to not ever call her friend that again, after all Amy didn’t call her any snake-based insults either, and made no mention of her friend’s hair at all. Later, around dinner, they visited Edie and Vi again only to learn that Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep them until the next morning “just to be sure”.

After all of that, Amy apparently didn’t mind turning in early. Or perhaps she just wanted to make sure she was around to handle her two housemates. Weasley was, unlike Vi and Edie, released and he was right clear about wanting to know everything that had happened. Draco had come by yesterday to torture him by gloating about knowing everything.

Riko left her to it and tried to entertain her two grumpy friends, who were miffed about having been left out. When Madam Pomfrey told her it was time for lights-out, Riko had almost finished her own plans for the night. She took herself down to the lair where she had to assure an equally miffed, if still on the outs, Tony and Draco about Norbert and give a carefully edited account about how it was that nobody’d got caught.

She thought they were both aware she was keeping some things out but Draco didn’t push and Tony wasn’t going to be out-classed. They both knew the value of privacy and discretion, after all. After a three-round tourney of chess that Tony won, and Draco all but hiring Riko to teach him how to sneak better, she retreated into one of the nooks and at long last continued her work on how to trick the charms on a certain lock she’d yet to pick.

It kept her occupied and awake until she could be sure nobody else was awake any more, at which point she packed everything up, obscured it, no point risking her room yet, and headed for the corridor of last night. It was really a good thing she knew of Mr Howson. Mrs Norris had been stalking Riko closely all day and she didn’t care to wander a maze of corridors where the cat might easily stumble on her fresh scent.

When she entered the room from yesterday, after a bit of work reconstructing their path, Riko wasn’t surprised to see the ghost, looking out the window over the grounds and the forest. It smelled dusty and of disuse but she thought this might have been his rooms, once. She relocked the door and cast Scutum Strepiti on it before addressing him with a polite “Well met.”

Just as last night he gave her a sharp, thoughtful look, not speaking, only acknowledging her greeting with a nod. Well, she was the indebted so she didn’t expect polite conversation, and if she was honest the castle’s ghostly residents gave her a bit of a turn anyway. It was like they weren’t real spirits, because Riko had some experiences with those. They were more like people who’d just forgot about their bodies, which was just utterly strange.

Pushing her unease back and keeping her game face up she clasped her hands behind her and looked him straight in the eye. “I owe you a debt,” she stated clearly. “So, what d’you want?”

He blinked, once, then stared even more, reminding her uncomfortably of her short encounter with the Bloody Baron at the start of the year. At least he didn’t poke her in the head, though he drifted uncomfortably close. Instead he looked her up and down and up again, then drew back, giving a small nod.

“You seem an upstanding witch, though it’s very Slytherin of you to see it like that. After all, I simply helped some fellow brave lions, that’s what we Gryffindors do,” he gave her an even look. “And I dare say you don’t feel like the other two owe you a debt, now do you?”

“Well, Amy doesn’t, of course, and I’d rather not have anything to do with Potter and his insane knack for making a mess so I’ll just forget it,” Riko raised her chin and gave a light shrug. “Not like I could’ve just left him stand there on his own, he’d ’ve probably made an even bigger mess of it.”

“Hmmm,” the ghost stroked his beard, well, goatee, and eyed her for a few moments.

“Your dagger had a rather unexpected effect,” he commented at last. “Usually weapons just pass through me without any trace.”

Now it was Riko’s turn to blink. As the frozen tableau from last night flashed before her eyes again she thought she could guess what he was getting at. His, well, nickname Nearly Headless Nick was legendary, after all. She leaned her head to the side, eyeing the wrist. It looked exactly like the other.

“But the effect passed quickly, and no trace remains, is that right?” she asked, giving the matter some thought.

“That is quite correct, yes, but still, if I had perhaps moved my arm away..” He looked uncomfortable with the idea, and small wonder. Missing a hand, even as a ghost, couldn’t be a good thing, ever.

Riko scratched her head, recalling the details. “Well, it might have taken a little longer but the structure was obviously still there. I’d say it would’ve filled out the same, just from one side... the remaining hand would’ve probably dissolved without you close enough to anchor it.”

He looked discontent with the answer but she continued thinking it through out loud. “You’re a sort of imprint, aren’t you, so the energy needed to disrupt your structure directly and permanently wouldn’t allow for fine effects. It’s rather fixed. Either it’s there or it’s broken. I’d rather not be the one to destroy one of the four house spirits, if it’s all the same to you.. well, perhaps there’s some rituals for fiddling with such things, but...”

He gave a sort of huff and turned to the side, crossing his arms again, looking right annoyed. Riko kept tumbling the puzzle around in her head, turning it over and over to look at it from all sides. “So.. an imprint.. say, you’re exactly like your body was, is that right? And you really can’t change your own form, not at all?”

It was after all something spirits could usually do. Riko didn’t know overly much about ghosts, even less about the local sort, so it was hard to find the exact shape of the problem she was trying to solve. When he suddenly turned back to her with a wide smile she was surprised and a bit wary.

“Brilliant, dear child, that is indeed the solution! Oh, why didn’t I think of it earlier.” Seeing her look he hastened to explain, his gestures wide and effusive. “You are indeed correct, my form is my body as I let go at last. Oh, if only I’d held on a little longer. But the link to it is yet quite strong, seeing as I had it treated and all! I even visit it sometimes!”

Riko didn’t like where this was going but he continued, happily sketching out exactly what she’d suspected.

“If I concentrate on it, as you do it, I should be able to incorporate the change. I’m sure of it, yes! It is after all something I’ve pictured often enough in my mind, but alas I was perhaps always focussed too much on what was there, instead of finding a way to do away with it. Indeed, that would be a great service, and it would require hardly any effort!”

Deigning to notice her wary look at last, he drew himself up. “I would of course guide you, it is even on the grounds. I heard of your quest to explore the whole school so this would benefit your own interests as well! Surely you wouldn’t renege on your word? We would have to do it discreetly, of course, but the way should still be safe enough to go, even by night..”

He went on planning and Riko didn’t see a point in trying to argue. She did after all owe him, and she was reasonably sure he wouldn’t knowingly endanger a student overly much. Well, that actually sounded worse than she felt warranted. It wouldn’t be defiling a grave with the owner along, and she’d get to see places not known to the general populace.

It actually sounded quite good, as adventures went. For once not something that would endanger anyone else or lead to an unholy mess like last night, just some exploring and doing a harmless favour. Riko interrupted the ghost’s rambling and they agreed to meet Friday or Saturday night, depending on the weather, in the small chamber by the Entrance Hall.

As she made her way back Riko thanked the fates she could sleep through History of Magic in the second period. She just had to make sure to stay awake during Charms first but really, if this kept up she might yet get them through Flitwick’s insane door before the end of the year and perhaps find a way to help Edie, too...

*

The next day made Riko rethink her every thought of last night and also long to curse certain parties in impossible ways. Not that she’d suddenly developed doubts or second thoughts on the deal with Nick, not at all. But she really could have done without finding out the ghost was at least as much of a gossip as Mr Howson.

Even more so, really, because Mr Howson stayed in his lift and didn’t go looking for people to tell his tales. Rather like her own housemates in a sense, those who didn’t know of Norbert and had only watched her be not-around or around but with Parkinson and Malfoy, and were of course not in any way feeling slighted, no, just potentially amenable to potential efforts of being friendly and obliging in this or that way. Gah.

Riko really wanted nothing more than doze peacefully through History of Magic. Instead she had to learn that during first periods Transfigs Amy had told Edie that Nearly Headless Nick had told her all about his brilliant plan to become Completely Headless Nick. Riko wished she could make it so he was actually headless, as in lacking the chance to gossip on account of his head being gone.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want the others to know, as such. But this was _her_ debt, and she took care of her own affairs, and she didn’t just need no help, it would surely be much less hassle if she went alone. She knew better than to say that to Edie, however, so Riko just kept her head on the table and nodded or grunted occasionally at opportune moments.

Transfigs with Hufflepuff was very tense, with McGonagall even more snippy than usual. It was all Riko could do to warn Vi there was a new operation in the works, but Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had Binns in the fourth period. Certainly Amy would do a thorough job informing Vi of every last detail and still manage to note the contents of the lesson. Riko still felt quite uncharitable about it at dinner but forced herself to put it out of her mind.

There was nothing to be done about it, and tomorrow Vi would turn twelve, which was more important than grumbling about things she couldn’t change anyway. Edie’s parents had sent a brilliant cake, with dates and topped with almonds and a spicey-sweet icing that tasted of lemon and pepper and cinnamon. Instead of dinner they had a fun party in their room, acting all sorts of civilized, talking French and taking tea with their sandwiches and cake.

They had finished the lingua loquendi a few weeks ago but since without constant practice the language wouldn’t settle right and then all their work would’ve been for nothing, they’d taken to using the days when they could only meet before dinner for French – it was hardly enough time to start working on anything more serious or complicated. Vi obviously enjoyed today’s special version of the practice and grinned about their antics and the gifts.

Riko had made her a small, inconspicuous pendant engraved with a four-leaf clover. It could hold four separate enchantments, though only for about a week or two. She hadn’t wanted to use silver in respect of Edie, defaulting to light pixie brass and ebony instead. She’d actually ordered some for her first experiments on imbuing charms into metal for her key-project, and after the first cases of hit and miss it had seemed like good idea to use it for something actually useful.

And it did look good as an inlay in the ebony. Riko’d actually hoped that by using it in powder form and settling it in with conjured lightning she’d get five workable slots but the stem had been too fine and been blown out, at least magically. To make up for it she had cooked up a few flash pellets, both white and black, and packed the recipe in with them. Vi was by now proficient enough at Obscurantis that vanishing in a flash was realistic, and judging from her pleased grin she caught Riko’s message.

Edie had got her a set of booknotemarks, bookmarks that reminded you which page had that quote you wanted to reference, a copy of the Princess Bride, and a pair of Whamming Socks. They had hair of Pixie Deer in with the wool and would grow extra-warm if you were being observed with bad intentions. The description had Vi remark drily she’d never need to worry about cold feet again.

Amy proved her attachment to all things written by giving Vi a copy of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Cambrioleur, in original French. Also, as if to show she was not just hung up on books, her gift included a smooth ring of haematite with a very clever charm on it. It would save a fraction of energy with every movement Vi made with her hand, to be released and directed at her will.

They were all properly impressed and Vi put it on immediately. But even so the rest of the evening and the whole week were overshadowed with worry about their trip with Nick. When Riko trudged into their room on Wednesday she carried with her two heavy crowbars from the tool shed behind Hagrid’s hut.

“Borrowed.. just to be sure,” she grinned at their looks. “Was hardly a detour, after Herbology.. now how about the research?”

She flopped down on the couch after storing the metal bars under it. “I’m still not sure: maps first or the construction charms? What’s the vote so far?”

“Construction charms. That way Vi and I can ask Professor Flitwick on Friday if we don’t find anything or have problems with the casting. And we have Nick as guide anyway and all of Friday afternoon to find some old maps..” Edie pointed out.

“Alright,” agreed Riko easily, stretching out before poking Amy. “You said Nick said some more about his grave?”

“Yes, he said it’s in a chapel in the forest, on a trail off the road to Hogsmeade,” her friend answered.

“Oh, right, I read about that in Hogwarts, A History,” Edie mused. “Back in the early days they had a lot of Christians at the school and they insisted they needed a chapel..”

“..so they built one down by the river,” Amy finished. “Well, what used to be a river. It’s in the middle of the forest now. People stopped using it a few centuries ago.”

“Why?” Riko asked curiously.

“Dunno,” Edie said. “It didn’t say.”

“Anyway, he said he was under a stone down there,” Amy said. “He got quite nostalgic about it, said it was awfully nice for a ghost to have a good-looking grave. He says he goes down and sits and looks at it sometimes.”

Edie looked quietly taken-aback at the notion. “How depressing!”

“He doesn’t think so,” Amy answered with a shrug, which, well, said it all, didn’t it.

So on Thursday, while Amy and Riko had their double Flying lesson, Edie and Vi were in the library, researching charms for controlled lifting and setting and such of heavy stones. When the two teams met at the Hufflepuff table one was in good spirits while the other was somewhat grumpy, windswept, and damp. The rest of the evening they holed up in their room and practised the researched construction charms on the wall.

On Friday the weather was utterly miserable, which didn’t disturb any of them in the slightest. It was much harder to find reliable information on the state of the grounds in ages past than to look up a few charms, even if they weren’t in the standard curriculum. Even ignoring their homework and spending the whole of Saturday in the library, they only had a very rough map at the end.

The weather had cleared beautifully, teasing them with clear blue skies and bright sunlight as they coughed on the dust and shooed away the tiny creepy-crawlies in the seldom-used shelves of the library, but they had a guide anyway, so they hid out where they were until after light-out and then went on their merry way.

Edie was carrying the crowbars, being the strongest, and Amy the map, having drawn it up from their scattered notes, and they’d all left their bags behind. When they made their way down the main stairs, safely obscured, and saw a small figure coming up from the first floor, they didn’t worry much, even if it was Potter. That might’ve been their first mistake, Riko thought, considering his ability to jinx anything around him.

After all, she’d never before carried around any amount of cold steel worth mentioning while sneaking about so she hadn’t thought on how it weakened the spell that had it’s roots in the fae’s fantastic nature of hiding in plain sight. It seemed he’d seen vague schemes of them and was in typical Gryffindor fashion of course unable to keep quiet about it.

“Who’s there?!” he yelled. Again with the loud voice! Argh! Bloody, gryffy mane-brains!

Amy reacted quickly, shushing him, and they were able to draw him down to the Entrance Hall and into the small chamber where they’d once, ages ago, waited to be sorted.

“What were you doing out there so late? And you weren’t even sneaking!” Amy was obviously aggravated and Riko felt for her. If they couldn’t get rid of him, she’d be the one who’d have to act as a puffer and handle him so he didn’t get them into trouble. Which was probably impossible, but still, if anyone could do it, it was probably his friend and housemate.

“Well, my head was hurting real bad and Percy overheard and said I should go to Madam Pomfrey but he didn’t want Ron to come along and go ‘wandering about and getting in trouble’ as he put it..” he threw Amy a pointed look, making Riko roll her eyes, “and Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion and ran some checks, and then I got her to let me go sleep in my own bed..” he crossed his arms.

“Well, that’s all very interesting, I’m sure, but how about you go there, now, and do just that? You’ll only get us caught and then I’ll have to kill you, only Amy wouldn’t like that and I’ll have to find some other revenge and that would be a hassle for everyone involved. So..shoo..” Riko made fitting gestures, one hand on her hip, unable to not show her annoyance.

He only gave her an angry glare, the weird many-forked lightning scar scrunching with it and his bright green eyes right eerie in a face almost as dark as Vi’s, and turned back to Amy. “What are _you_ doing out here, involved in some crazy scheme when you’re always acting all reasonable, marking the good girl and going on about how we shouldn’t break the rules when _you_...”

Amy was looking put out and flustered at the same time and Riko suppressed a hiss of annoyance. Her friend was obviously about to answer, and from the frown on her face it might get ugly fast, so Riko interrupted.

“Oh, seriously, Potter, do shut up! She’s just trying to keep you out of trouble, and even if it doesn’t sound like much when I say it like that, she’s more reasonable than you and Weasley put together! Least a dozen times over!”

Potter shot an incredulous look first at Amy then at Riko and opened his mouth but Vi and Edie had enough of their bickering. Vi pointedly cleared her throat and leaned against the wall by the door. “Yeah, glad you thought of it, just finished the charm, we won’t be heard from the Entrance Hall.. now! So go right ahead..”

“..if you haven’t got anything better to do tonight, that is,” Edie shot them all a pointed look, then addressed Potter much more politely than Riko would have trusted herself to do.

“Come on, Potter, please just return to your house quietly. We’ve planned this through and prepared so you needn’t worry about your friend getting into trouble. This here is really no business of yours and you’re liable to get us found out..”

Riko thought that if anyone had ever had a chance of getting Potter to leave them alone it was Edie, in that very moment. But then Nick showed up, jumping in through the wall in a right fine mood, and asked eagerly if they were all ready. Then he noticed Potter.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there, Mr Potter! Have you come to join the quest? How good of you, I’m sure it will be very educational. Ah, yes, how fitting! All parties concerned and a pair of fair partners, truly marvellous! Now, follow me closely, I’ve scouted ahead already!”

Potter looked confused, the spread of his lightning scar drawing again against itself, but he also clearly settled to come along. Riko put her head in her hands.

They made it out of the castle and into the partial cover of the edge of the forest without any trouble, Nick continually ghosting, hah, ahead to scout and giving directions in excited whispers. He seemed delighted to be sneaking around the school and Riko thought most of the ghosts were probably bored, most of the time.

Then they were on the gravel way that led to the Hogsmeade road, starting to breathe a bit more easy now that they’d cleared the part that held the greatest chance of being spotted from a window. Potter had been informed of their quest and told to just follow their lead and not do anything foolish. Riko wondered why they even bothered and did her best to ignore him.

“The Romans built the road when they passed through, I hear,” Nick was saying, “Very flat, as straight as possible, strong construction charms..”

“Roman wizards wanted to conquer and ‘civilise’ the locals,” Vi said silently and shrugged at their surprised looks. “It’s what they did, Romans. Lots of old pureblood families from around that time.. most of their books say the locals didn’t have any magic but I kinda doubt it..”

Edie looked over thoughtfully and nodded. “Yeah, that’s just what they’d say. It’s obvious they had magic though ’cause the Romans didn’t build that,” she pointed off in the distance. Riko turned to follow her hand and saw the others stop to do the same. Across the flat farmland that had once been and was still called the Hogsmeade Fens there were strange stony shapes rising in the distance, sharp-edged in the clear, cool air.

“Creadonagh valley,” Nick nodded. “We used to play war-games there when I was a boy at Hogwarts. Terribly dangerous and foolish but back then things were done differently and surviving Hogwarts was its own final exam.”

“It’s just a stone circle though,” Potter said. “There’s lots of them in Britain, doesn’t mean they’re magical.”

“It’s wild magic,” Nick said soberly. “Don’t you go near it. The Forest is bad enough but it still follows some law; Creadonagh valley is its own law. Come on now, children. You’ll have to be back in your beds before dawn.”

They followed Nick further along until finally a little footpath, lined on either side with rocks and looking like something a child might have devised in a parents’ garden, broke off from the main road.

“Don’t go outside the stones,” Nick warned. “Inside them you’re protected by iron charms buried underneath.. works as well on unicorns as it does on the fey, not that the fey are your biggest worry, mind you.. and the rest of the really dangerous ones won’t come near the path at any rate.

“Is the chapel safe?” Potter asked. They stood all staring at the dreary little trail. It dipped down, where it left the Hogsmeade road, and ran straight into the shadows.

“It’s holy ground,” Nick said simply and began to drift down the path. He looked less translucent out here, as though being closer to his body made him closer to real himself.

Riko stepped forward, Vi moving right beside her. The path was just wide enough for two and Vi hung back a half-step, stepping carefully in the dark. Riko looked back to see Edie and Amy just a step behind them and behind them Potter, staring at her as if she was a ghost herself. Oh, right, her eyes.

The sky was clear so they’d just look like normal cat’s eyes now. Well, could be worse, she thought, turning away again and shaking her wand out.

“Lumos! Vi, you cover me, alright?”

“’Course.”

Riko grinned at the dry reply, switched her wand to the left hand and started forward. Behind her she could hear the others team up similarly, Amy casting the light while Edie had a crowbar at the ready.

Nick was a glowing silver beacon up ahead, which helped light the direction of the trail so that they wouldn’t step off it by accident. Off in the darkness things scurried and chirped unnaturally loud. Without Hagrid and Fang along and in the dark of night the Forbidden Forest seemed a lot more, well ..forbidding.

They walked a long time until suddenly Nick’s faint glow vanished and was replaced by the eerie flicker of silvery light through narrow windows. Even in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, with things creeping and crawling all around them, they stopped to take in the Hogwarts Chapel.

It was a squat, low building, with thick-looking walls and narrow windows, bearing an odd resemblance to Hagrids hut. Bits of the roof on one side had fallen in, and here and there they could see loose stonework which confirmed the impression that the walls were built more crudely than the graceful gothic arches of Hogwarts. It was a rude little chapel, sturdy and jagged, as though eroded out of the ground.

Despite this they could tell there had been additions over the years, as wizards just couldn’t bear to leave well enough alone. The thin arrow-slit windows had been fitted with bright stained-glass at some point, cracking in places but still mostly intact. Strange little crenellations were poking up from the corners of the building and stone carvings, clearly stuck-on after the fact, decorated the eaves, the windowsills, and the massive, open doorway.

Tiny carved gargoyles grinned down from the tops of the walls and Riko thought she could make out human figures over the door. Metal straps still hung like horizontal bars across the doorway, the wood long-since rotted away. They hurried down the hill, then, and as they approached they could see that two of the door-bars met in a tarnished lock that was still secure.

They ducked under and stepped over the bars to get inside, Riko examining the lock interestedly as they passed, Amy putting out a finger to touch the figures that seemed to be climbing up the doorway towards some eroded carving at the summit.

“Oh.. it’s lovely, I wish I had a camera“ Amy said quietly, once they’d stepped over the leaf-detritus in the inside entrance and gotten their first proper view.

The room was barely bigger than a classroom and lined with stone benches that had been carved into graceful curves on either side of a central aisle. Moonlight filtered in through the broken roof and below the holes fallen stones littered the floor. A few had broken cracks into the benches below them.

The stone floor was laid out in unevenly-sized blocks, some of which had begun to heave up with time and Riko thought that in another few decades roots would probably start to peek through. One, far off in a corner under the roof (where sunlight would fall in the daytime, she realised) already had. There were small clerestory windows set halfway up the slope of the roof, a vertical insert that would let in even more light, without letting in rain.

Their lights made the narrow stained-glass windows flicker and seem to move and Riko was reminded of a temple she’d visited with Yoko once, and a lost cathedral with her parents. Clearly those were religious stories painted in light for believers to enjoy. In one of them a man was putting his hands in another one’s injuries; probably a healing spell, she guessed. In the next window over was a woman holding, of all improbable things, what looked like a big, red Easter egg, bow and all.

Nick was standing about two thirds down the aisle, opaque enough now that he was blocking the altar at the front of the chapel, though they could see that a rusting iron cross still hung in fragments above it.

“I’m checking the map,” Amy whispered excitedly. “Harry, give me a Lumos, will you?”

And she set about correcting their makeshift map. She’d even taken a small bottle of coloured ink along! Vi wandered down one of the benches to inspect the ceiling holes and had to jump back when they creaked and dropped another few stones. Edie was crouching, wand held above the floor so she could read something carved there.

“Did they really bury people under those stones?” asked Riko, watching Edie trace a line of text with her finger. “I mean, it’s inside the temple, chapel, y’know..”

“I can’t speak for Muggles,” Nick said, his voice as hushed as theirs, “but in the wizarding world they do. Did, once. Maybe they still do.” He shrugged, clearly uninterested in the funerary rites of the current living, and drifted a little further. “I’m over here, near the front.”

Edie, who was closest, headed over and stood carefully at the edge of the stone, inspecting it critically.

“Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, 1450 – 1492. Executed by order of Henry Tudor, false pretender to the crown,” she read carefully, working her way around the odd y and spare e that made it slightly difficult to read in modern English.

Nick smiled. “I was very political even as a young ghost. I grew out of it, a bit. Notice it doesn’t say beheaded,” he said sadly. “No matter how much I shouted, they wouldn’t put Beheaded on it when they were carving it.”

“Why did he have you executed?” Riko asked, joining Vi at the gravemarker.

Below Nick’s name and the date of his death there was an elaborate carving of a skeleton in profile, holding a lantern in one hand and a sickle in the other. Behind the skeleton a flat, stylised rose spread its petals.

“Read the epitaph,” Nick said quietly. It was a long one, in small, worn script, but Riko did her best.

_If in politics you would muddle_

_Especially affairs of Muggles_

_Pay heed to my foul murder_

_At the hands of Henry Tudor._

 

_I was a stout and loyal Yorkist_

_A soldier in the War of Roses_

_Naturally, therefore, did I own_

_The Duke of York should wear the crown._

 

_Into conspiracy I entered_

_To kill the false Tudor pretender;_

_While travelling in France they caught me_

_Knowing that the Red Rose sought me._

 

_On the chopping-block he placed my head;_

_The headsman tried to strike me dead._

_Forty-seven times he tried_

_Before I had completely died._

 

_Remember if you will my name;_

_Sir Nick may lie below in shame,_

_But while his body this stone lies o’er_

_The white rose triumphs evermore!_

 

“Papa’s family is from Lancashire,” Edie said, in a hushed voice. “This was about the end of the War of the Roses, wasn’t it? We got some books on it..”

“What’s the War of the Roses?” Riko asked, hoping to cut short on her inevitable research.

“An old, very foolish war,” Nick sighed. “And I was on the losing side, as it turned out.”

“We should start,” Amy said, coming forward. Potter trailed behind her, looking both interested and as if he rather wouldn’t be here after all.

“Right, Vi and me’ll make it loose enough, and Edie and you can lift it up. We’ll join in as soon as it’s clear of the slot...” Riko readied her wand and stood opposite Vi so the stone was between them.

It was a little tricky, temporarily condensing the big tablet of stone just enough to make it come lose, and without harming it, but it worked well enough. Amy and Edie were at the ready and immediately aimed their wands, working their lifting charms underneath it. Potter was surprisingly useful, aiming his Lumos so they could see.

Once they’d floated the heavy stone away, all four of them focusing hard in order to get it leaned up safely against a wall, they were faced with a smooth, dark dirt surface where small bugs were frantically crawling away into the cracks between the other stones.

“Who wants to dig?” Nick asked cheerfully.

Resignedly they all began to dig, lifting balls of dirt with their wands and piling it carefully to one side. It was easier than digging with shovels but they were still sore from concentrating by the end of it, when the dirt was whisked away and a plain, warped brown coffin lid looked up at them. Or perhaps it was because they grew ever more tense.

Amy carefully charmed the lid up. Sir Nicholas looked very peaceful, really, Riko decided.

“That’s me,” Nick said, pleased. “I look well. I should see about a further gratuity to the heirs of the folk who did the preservation-charm.”

Riko uncomfortably cleared her throat. “..Alright then. You’re giving me permission and all, right? So, no cursing me for defiling your final rest or anything like that..”

“Why, of course! Just give me timely note as you do it..” Nick looked positively giddy.

Riko mumbled a distracted “Yeah, sure,” and moved to kneel at the edge. It wasn’t as deep as expected, she’d be able to lean over and brace herself on the coffin-lid. She swallowed drily and looked up at them watching her with big eyes.

“Vi, hold my belt?” she readied her right fang and drew some loose hair behind her ear.

“Your belt..” Vi asked, confused.

“So I don’t fall in. I don’t fancy landing on top of a dead body,” Riko said, a bit more sharply than she’d meant to, but Vi only nodded tolerantly and hooked one hand around her belt, gripping the nearest stone bench with the other.

Riko carefully eased herself out over the grave, gripping the lid, testing it first to make sure it wasn’t completely rotten. Then, even more carefully, she stretched her other arm, probing gently with her fang below a wide lace ruff. And then she encountered resistance, of a rather squishy sort.

“Nick..” Riko cleared her throat to steady her voice. “On three..”

She wet her lips and took a deep breath. This was stupid, there was no reason to act like that. He was already dead and he’d asked her to do it and anyway, she couldn’t let Potter see her be all squeamish. Furrowing her brows she concentrated only on the task ahead, moving her fang back and upwards a bit and channelling a steady stream of power along the blade.

“One..” Riko was glad to note her voice sounded steady, even calm, and carried well through the complete silence in the room.

“Two..” Riko focussed her eyes on the ghost, saw him close his eyes and draw his brows in concentration. “..Three!”

Her fang moved with eerie ease as she pushed down, Riko barely felt it part the remaining.. remains with a slightly wet noise, only a very light sort of crackling feedback that was washed away with the energy she was pouring out. Then the thunk of a blade on wood echoed through the chapel, oddly loud.

In the following, ringing silence Riko could see very clearly Nick’s head slowly listing, sliding sidewards, before it tumbled down behind his left shoulder. He still had his eyes tightly closed and although she’d seen a lot in her life, this was definitely in the top ten most disturbing things.

Perhaps that distraction was the cause for her slip-up. One moment she was propped securely against the edge of the coffin, taking a deep breath and thinking how to best retract her fang, next she was sliding down, getting a far to close look at the make of the wide lace ruff.

Luckily, Vi had her back. Her friend tugged, hard. The lid slammed shut as Riko flew backwards, her fang skittering away across the stones. Bloody ghosts and spirits, Shizuka would be so proud.. not! Riko bit her tongue and tried not to guess what educational training her sensei would’ve come up with for that epic fail of losing her weapon.

Landing helped with that, ending that ridiculous free-fall moment and getting her mind back to the here and now. She and Vi ended up in a pile, and Edie bent over to haul them to their feet and check they were really alright. Amy and Potter were staring down the aisle, where Nick was floating, his body ending suddenly in a fancy lace ruff.

“WELL DONE LASS!” his head boomed from where it had rolled, near the front pew. It was lying on one ear and beaming joyously. “Where’s my body gone – oh, there it is, just be a second..”

The ghostly body drifted over and while they all watched in horrified fascination picked up it’s equally ghostly head by the hair. Meanwhile, Riko was wiping her hands and her retrieved fang on her trousers, even going so far as to let a small tingle of fire eat along the blade to make sure it was clean again.

“Look!” Amy grinned. “It’s Completely Headless Nick!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probanly the chapter with the most content of copperbadge. Again many thanks for this, and even more for letting me put in your brilliant epitaph here!


	18. All for One and One for All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chivalry is the theme of the evening, and it holds. This is not always a good thing for all concerned parties..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter still owes it's existence as it is to the foundation of copperbadge's works, though less than the last. again, many thanks to copperbadge for writing in the first place and letting me keep what I pilfered from this work ^_^

They pushed the dirt back in the grave and exhaustedly got the stone in place. It ended up a little uneven, but Nick didn’t seem to notice. He was still getting used to having a mobile head.

“Will it stay on?” Riko asked, as they made their way back through the lack-of-door.

“I don’t know,” Nick answered, and with the air of a man balancing a book there, he put his head on top of his neck. “How do I look?”

“Bit crooked,” Vi said critically. Nick opened his mouth and his head toppled forward.

“It might take some practice yet,” he admitted, retrieving it and tucking it safely under one arm. “That was a work well done! I’m in your debt now, no denying it, that was indeed a great favour.”

Well, Riko wasn’t going to argue if he said so.

*

They were already a good way back on the trail, clear of the small hill that hid the chapel, when Riko made the mistake that would ultimately lead to this evening’s doom. Well, looking back, clearly her mistake had been to let Potter come along, but that had been sort of out of her hands. When she noticed a straggling shape, like a large animal, near the trail, without actually thinking, she asked “What’s that, there?” and pointed.

They all turned around and one after the other lit their wands to see what it was, but it was too far away to make out clearly. Impatiently Riko channelled some power to call up her Demon Eyes and looked again while Nick drifted closer to the unknown thing. She saw it clearly just as Nick was close enough to light it with his own glow, holding his head in front of him at arms length like a lantern.

“That’s a unicorn,” Nick sounded alarmed. The animal, clearly terrified, had stumbled when his light fell on it, almost falling to it’s knees. As they watched, it struggled away, moving like drunk, silvery liquid pulsing down its front legs.

“It’s been hurt!” Riko and Edie said at the same time.

“Nobody would hurt a unicorn,” Nick replied, almost to himself. “Unless.. go. Go now,” he said urgently, turning to them. “You’re in danger here. Go, run and tell Hagrid someone’s been hunting unicorns, I’ll see if I can find out anything..”

He drifted after the retreating form of the unicorn into the darkness, his light soon obscured by trees. They looked at each other and started to head back up the trail. Potter was trailing them with an increasing distance and after a dozen steps or so spoke up.

“Shouldn’t we try to help it?” he said, tone somewhere between scared and refusing to be scared, “I mean, it’s hurt and Nick is a ghost, what could he even do to help?..”

Riko freely admitted she had a bad way of handling Potter, at any given time, and especially in this situation, just about a week after the Norbert-incident. But her priority were her friends and yes, she admitted it was a good thing they had helped make Nick truly headless, but none of them were ready to face anything that hunted unicorns, and she hadn’t wanted them along from the start, not to mention Potter, who was even less able to take care of himself, and hadn’t been supposed to be anywhere near them this night.

Vi and her had taken point and she turned with an irritated sigh or perhaps an annoyed hiss. She was still powering her Demon Eyes-spell, to make sure she’d catch any hint of advancing trouble. Admittedly this made her seem less normal to someone like Potter, something she hadn’t wasted any thought on. His tender feeling were far less important in the situation than their continued survival, she’d thought.

“No, we should not,” she said, “Whatever hurt this unicorn is not something any of us want to meet. Neither of us is good enough at healing spells to be able to help it, if it would even let us close. Best case we’d just get mauled by a panicked unicorn, which I won’t wish even on you. Now hurry it up, whatever hurt it won’t care about the protection of this trail and the faster we get Hagrid..”

She’d listed a number of valid arguments but Riko doubted the boy who was famous just because he lived would’ve listened. He had that stubborn look and admittedly she had perhaps not taken the most patient tone. However, at that moment a sort of explosion of purple-pink light flickered in the forest. From the direction into which Nick had drifted. A desperate, keening whinny could softly be heard in the aftermath of the sounds of splintering wood.

“We’ve got to..” Potter actually turned _toward_ the sounds and Riko lost the last shreds of her patience.

“Shut _up_! Ye gods..” she darted towards him and gripped his forearm, ready to turn back and drag him back towards safety. She hadn’t expected him to jerk back with such vehemence, a short moment of panic on his face before he found back to his usual angry mien.

“We can’t just run away and do nothing!” he all but screamed, and then raced away.

In the direction of whatever grisly scene was happening down there, in the forest. Riko wanted to tear her hair out. Instead she bit down on her need to curse like a sailor and turned to her friends.

“Please, fuck’s sake, get Hagrid! Amy, I’ll look after him so don’t panic, too!” She shook her head at their attempts to argue. “I’m the most likely to survive whatever is going on down there and Hagrid needs to know. Go!”

Then she tore into the direction Potter had taken. She could see occasional traces of Potter’s passage in the underbush, but mostly Riko had to go by memory of where the purple blast had been, trying to find a balance between being fast and being not as loud as her charge.

It wouldn’t do to run blindly into a situation that involved a hurt unicorn, anything that could hurt a unicorn and cause purple explosions, and Harry Sodding Potter. But if she went too slowly she’d likely just find his dead body and that wouldn’t do either! Riko risked jumping into the shadows and was glad of it.

They were touchy here in the forest but nothing she couldn’t handle after slipping into quicktime, and it was so good to just flit about and not have to drag anything after her. Not that Riko thought she could even do that here, she had to skim lightly as it was, never staying longer than a few fractions of a moment inside their fluttering realm. It helped her catch up and gave her a short moment to take in the situation when she did.

To the left side of the tableau stood a frozen Harry Potter, staring in panic at an odd figure advancing at him, shrouded in lurid swirls of power. To it’s feet was the unicorn, now dead, it’s silvery glowing blood splattered on the ground and down the front of the figure. It was formed like a human but it had glowing red eyes and as it jerked towards the boy it moved very oddly.

She had just enough time to form a very basic sort-of-Anselm, directing its power with her outstretched hand as she raced to reach the scene in time. Instead of the usual arrows, or even just one, it became a directed ram of fiery wind, throwing the figure upwards into a tree.

Riko slid to a stop beside Potter, trying to track it’s movements and place herself between her charge and whatever creature this was. It had dropped away from the tree and the small clearing they found themselves in, formed by a broadened deer trail, was now surrounded by disgusting swirls of pinkish-grey glowing mist that made it hard to see.

Careful not to trigger any repeated extreme reactions, she nudged him with her elbow. “Potter! We need to get out of here! Oi!”

Even so he flinched violently, obviously in shock. “It.. it killed it.. drank its blood..”

He held his wand in a white-gripped hand, which was good..ish, but his other hand was pressed against his forehead as if he was hurt and he was shivering all over. Not surprising if he saw how something fed on a unicorn, killing it. But still, they needed to find a way to get out of this without ending up like that poor unicorn. Perhaps a Baquo Raven..?

Riko’s planning almost cost her dearly. Suddenly she felt, and then saw, power surging up to their left. She drew up a hasty shield, working again with hand gestures and only fractured bits of structure and words, linking it all together with only power of will to keep it up. It barely held, dissipating along with the rank, clinging remains of pink-purple power that had been shot at it.

As it did, Riko threw back a Damnod, only too aware that it would be near impossible to get away if she couldn’t get them some air by repulsing their attacker at least temporarily. And with the dratted mist-swirls dancing about she had to take every chance at a shot. Not that it did any good, she only blasted an innocent tree, their adversary had already moved on.

“K’so bloody shite, Potter! Get a grip!” Riko frantically tried to sense from where the next attack would come while at the same time hoping Potter would snap out of it at last. “Listen up.. get a firm grip on me, just not my arms..”

She hadn’t spared the time to look if he was starting to come out of it but even so Riko barely made it. Suddenly the mist in front of them and to the right surged insanely fast towards them. Riko stumbled as she shoved Potter to the left, almost landing on top of him. Then she learned something she thought she knew already. Her friends had her back.

One moment Riko was scrambling up, still guarding Potter, part of her imagining how embarrassing it would be if that was the way she’d die, the air around her charged with unused, fucking undirected power. Next thing, the foul-smelling figure, still clouded in it’s swirl of grey-pink, lurched back, barely evading what looked like a blue fireball. It wasn’t fast enough to evade Edie’s crowbar.

The length of steel landed with a sickening crunch in its side and the creature gave a wet snarl as it drew a larger swirl of charged, crackling mist around it, moving away in the cover. Riko took a deep breath, stilling her hands, and tried to rethink the entire situation. As nice as the warm feeling of having such great friends was, they still weren’t in the clear, not at all.

Now she had to make sure five people survived, not just two, and she knew they couldn’t have got Hagrid yet. Edie had moved to her left, to guard Potter’s other side, while Vi and Amy came to stand beside her, standing ready to guard her back. Both had their wands out but Amy was now changing to hold the second crowbar with both hands.

Their faces were grim but lightened a little at her cheery grin and “Ta, nice save there..” Beside being chronically unable to stay serious at just about anything Riko thought that lifting morale was a good excuse for letting off some of the giddy, adrenaline-fuelled energy she felt in that moment.

But they’d all underestimated whatever creature it was. Edie was just shooting a quick look over her shoulder at Potter, to check if he was alright, when it attacked. One moment Edie was standing there, the next what looked like a short lash of purple flew at her, catching her at the shoulder and throwing her into a tree with an ominous thunk.

Amy, who’d moved to guard their rear side, gave an angry yell and charged it with her crowbar, but this time it didn’t work. The figure caught the other end of it, holding it fast. Amy gave a startled sound of pain, drawing back hastily. In the process she stumbled over a root, falling backwards into Potter. They tumbled down in a heap.

Riko was very glad of this a moment later. A disturbing, sirring sound filled the air, and with an unhinged cackle the figure aimed the crowbar at them. The metal was glowing a virulent pink, then it exploded, shards of it spattering the area.

Riko tried to draw up a shield, pouring in power to anchor it by her fallen friend, angling it upward, but was unsure of her success. The sharp pang of the explosion still ringing in her ears, she bared her teeth and used the chance to land another hasty Damnod, no time for Anselm, even a proto one. Vi had somehow pushed a wedge of movement at it with her left hand, startling it enough so it couldn’t evade again. Ah, right, her ring!

Quite likely it had also been distracted by the stream of blue fire that Amy was sending from where she and Potter had fallen, forcing it to step away from them or stand in the flickering flames. By then Vi had drawn up a shield, the advanced, stable sort she’d use against her cousins, and Riko saw with satisfaction that it even kept the mist away from them.

Her explosion had only thrown the creature back instead of exploding it proper and from the sounds it landed in some underbrush and moved on. But at the same time, Potter had shot a stream of red-and-gold, firework-like sparks at the creature. The bright motes of light were now flickering around in swirls and seemed to eat away the mist, as if a sudden, warm wind was caught around them.

From the corner of her eye Riko could see Edie move, stumbling to stand up but seemingly alright, crowbar still in hand. She could also suddenly hear other sounds. Calls of “Intruders in the forest!” and what sounded like names.. Ronan, Magorian, Firenze. There was also wild barking, Fang without a doubt, drawing ever nearer. The disgusting mist reared up again, like flames, then curled back in the direction the thing had been thrown.

Then it was gone. Or seemed to be gone, but from the entire feel of it, the air suddenly not as heavy any more, the thick miasma of the mist gone.. The fine hair on her arms and neck was still standing up and the unicorn there.. but that was only aftermath, really. Riko breathed a deep, shuddering sigh of relief, turning to take a better look at her fallen friends. “Edie? Amy? You alright?”

Amy’s signature pet fire was by now flickering merrily, lighting everything in the mini clearing. Amy and Potter were sitting but seemed alright, from their nods. Potter was still holding his left hand against his head as if it hurt, but they were helping each other up. Edie was slowly moving over, wincing and using the crowbar like a cane, but she nodded, too.

“Yeah, just a little banged up. Nothing broken I think..”

In her relief Riko was not prepared at all to fall herself when she moved forward to see if they really were alright. Luckily, Vi was beside her, catching her elbow and keeping her from landing on her face. Looking down she saw in the flickering blue light a hole in her trousers, about a hand above her right knee. The fabric around it was growing dark with blood.

“Oh..” Riko blinked, surprised. Now that she saw it, it was starting to really hurt. Or perhaps that was because she’d tried to use the leg.

“Oh?! You nutcase! Sit down, right now..” Vi pushed her down immediately, but gave a hiss when Riko grabbed her arm to not suddenly land on her bum. Riko took a closer look and narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“Nutcase yourself! Look at your arm!” Vi’s left sleeve was ripped in places and oozing blood as well. Riko had hastily let go of her injured friend and landed with an unpleasant thump. “Oh bollocks, sorry Vi..”

Vi gave at first a grin, then a dry snort, then she fell into bubbling, relieved laughter and let Riko draw her down to sit beside her. Riko noticed only peripherally the others stumbling the few steps to them and sit down again, she was concentrating on scanning through Vi’s body. With great relief she noted the wounds were mostly just superficial scrapes, but there..

“Vi, don’t try to use your left arm, yeah? You’ll rip it, got two iron shards in your biceps. They’re properly inside, too, so I don’t think we can get them out..” Riko glanced worriedly at her friend.

Vi gave a sigh and nodded, drawing her right hand through her hair and putting her hat back on with an eerie sort of calm. “Alright, ta, Riko. Now check yourself already, will ya?”

Riko nodded and took a look around first, feeling right miserable at what she saw. Edie was obviously trying to find a way to sit that wouldn’t hurt too badly and Amy was worriedly studying her palms. Potter was sitting with his head pressed against his knees but his hands weren’t shaking any more and she couldn’t see any wounds. Riko threw a closer look at Amy’s hands then, noticing the red skin just as Amy noticed her looking.

“S’just light burns.. I’ll just not use them before Madam Pomfrey gets to them,” she gave a weak, pained smile and Riko had to bite her tongue to not mention that she’d just shortly ago used those very hands to conjure up fire with her wand! But her friend was biting her lips, obviously in pain, and Riko couldn’t even help her so she kept quiet.

“Riko, check you leg! I’ll put something on Vi’s arm, just show me. You’re leaking worse than her,” Edie poked her unsubtly in the arm.

Her leg was pulsing rather unpleasantly so she followed Edie’s suggestion, pointing at the two places on Vi’s upper arm before concentrating inwards. Now that she paid some attention, Riko couldn’t stop a grimace. It didn’t take long, there was only the one wound, but that wasn’t the only problem.

She quickly opened her eyes again, loosening her sash and tying it around her leg. As she secured the knot her hands were already starting to shake. Cosmic irony that she had the biggest sliver, hah, of them all, stuck in her tight muscles, just less than an inch from each side of her leg. At least it hadn’t hit any big arteries or bones or anything. But she’d also overextended herself, and rather badly, throwing about half-worked spells like that. It would just be her luck to get spell-sick now, bloody shite!

While Riko’d taken care of her leaking leg, Edie had cast Levatio on Amy and Vi after tying two handkerchief around the Hufflepuff’s arm. Vi was just aiming her wand at Edie to return the favour when they were interrupted. Hagrid’s massive form broke through the underbrush that flanked their left side. Only a moment later two other massive forms came from two other sides: centaurs! Hagrid’s jaw all but fell to the ground as he saw them sit there but he was immediately all business when the centaurs showed up.

“Ronan! Firenze! Good ter see yer! Did yer see anything running away from here? Seems them students chased it off... been summat in here as has been hunting unicorns..”

Riko couldn’t stop herself from looking at the dead body of the unicorn at his words, shuddering. It was one of the younger ones, she could even recall it. When Hagrid had introduced them to the herd, this one hadn’t just nodded and gone back to grazing. It had eyed them interestedly while they walked about the clearing, obviously curious. With an effort she ended the train of thought and also her Demon-Eyes. Conserving energy was more important than her instinctive paranoia, now.

“Good evening, Hagrid,” said one of the centaurs in a deep, sorrowful voice.

He was tan and well-muscled, his red hair and beard neatly kept and his horse part gleaming chestnut with a long, reddish tail. Amy and Potter’s jaw dropped as they stared, Edie and Vi only slightly more subtle in their fascinated, timid looks. He eyed the scene, almost absently lingering at the dead body, then looked to the sky. After a second, he gave a sigh.

“Always the innocent are the first victims,” he looked mournfully down again at Hagrid. “Mars is bright tonight.”

Hagrid seemed unsurprised at the strange non-answer. “Err, yes, thanks Ronan. So, ye didn’t notice anything flee from here? Or anything else odd, moving about?”

Ronan didn’t answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upwards, then sighed again. “Mars is bright tonight,” he repeated while Hagrid watched him impatiently. “Unusually bright.”

Riko could see that Hagrid was just about to ask again, when they were interrupted again. This time it was Fang, charging through the brushwood that Hagrid had parted already, and he had, of all things, a white-faced Draco hanging onto his collar.

The massive dog was panting and whimpering and sweating enough to steam, and Draco looked hardly better, paler even than his usual colourless self. He wasn’t whimpering, but that was probably just because his jaw was clenched so tightly. Fang pressed close to Hagrid, who had hurriedly raised a truly impressively big crossbow at the sound of movement, and Draco let go then, shuddering, his wide eyes darting about the scene.

Ronan seemed to take that as his cue to leave, he nodded once in Hagrids direction and again wished him, of all things, a good evening before trotting off. The other centaur, Firenze, was paving the ground uneasily, but stayed. He looked younger and had white-blond hair, almost like Draco’s, and a palomino body. His eyes were a very strong blue, even visible in the unruly light of Amy’s fire, and so far he had only looked around the scene curiously.

“The forest hides many secrets, Hagrid,” he said, almost nervously. Then he set his jaw, as if defying something, and continued hastily. “But what is hunting unicorns came not from the forest, it was brought to the school. You should take great care, especially with the Potter boy. He should not be in such a situation!”

Then he reared about and galloped back into the forest.

“..What?” Draco panted and Riko would have agreed, though perhaps not vocally, if the scene hadn’t been interrupted yet again.

“Lumos!” Two voices shouted, from above them. Two strong beams of light skittered over them and Riko gave up trying to still her trembling. She’d thought she recognized the voices and Edie’s face going pale with shock confirmed it. But by then McGonagall and Professor Snape were already descending on brooms, crowding the small clearing more with their presence than Hagrid and the centaurs had managed with their mass.

“What in Morgana’s name is going on here?!” McGonagall’s voice cut like knife through the tense silence that had descended with them.

Meanwhile Professor Snape was looking over the scene, taking the chance to observe while the deputy headmistress took the centre stage. Riko was all but frozen, the sheer rage in the Tartan’s voice telling her that answering would probably make the unlucky person the lightning rod for a lot of bad weather. Hagrid cleared his throat.

“Professor McGonagall, good seeing you! Malfoy was to help me find what’s been hunting unicorns in th’ forest, fer his detention. And while we were about searchin’, I noticed some fireworks going here. Seems like them kids stumbled into it right in th’ act,” he gestured at the dead unicorn, again. Riko wished he would stop doing that, but it was probably better than if he’d gestured at them.

McGonagall was pressing her lips into a thin line as she looked around the scene, taking in the blue fire, the dead unicorn, Draco (who was doing his best to gather his composure), at last landing on their small group still sitting in a huddle. Riko looked down quickly, to not catch her eyes, only squinting up under the cover of her fringe and eyelashes.

“Clearly they didn’t come out unscathed from whatever they managed to stumbled into,” Professor Snape’s calm, precise voice commented. “Perhaps it would be better to transport them to the hospital wing before questioning them..”

He sounded like he didn’t care much about it, but Riko could see him looking them over with serious, worried eyes after he’d finished checking for traces on the ground and branches in the direction the thing had departed. McGonagall had repeated the search, casting her Lumos around, but obviously found nothing, either. She gave an irritated sigh and nodded shortly, turning to stride over to them.

Vi was the first to be on her feet, followed quickly by Amy. Then Edie and Potter, both moving gingerly, and then Riko had to let Vi and Edie help her stand, trying to not move or bend her leg. She was starting to feel very cold. Hopefully they’d reach Madam Pomfrey before she fell over or into a regenerative sleep from lack of energy. She already had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering and the trembling was starting to become painful. And, as usual, her thoughts were growing sluggish and fuzzy with exhaustion, not something she could afford now!

“Minerva, if you don’t mind I’ll take my students and Ms Drake to the hospital wing and leave the others to you,” Professor Snape moved efficiently over to them, pointing his wand at his broomstick and making it grow in length.

McGonagall gave him a distracted nod, looking them over grimly, and then turned to talk to Hagrid in a quiet voice. Riko didn’t catch what they were saying, being already helped by Vi to sit behind Draco, who was sitting behind Professor Snape. Then her friend sat behind her, holding onto her with her right hand, and gave a short, tense “Ready” that told Riko the pain-relieving charm was running out.

Then Riko had to focus on staying awake and on the broom instead of dragging any of the others down with her. At first she saw Draco’s hands gripping tightly Professor Snape’s robes, as if afraid to sit too close or touch too much, but then she had to close her eyes and concentrate on breathing and her equilibrium, tightly gripping Malfoys shoulders.

Seeing odd, bright colours in the dark was usually not a good sign, and this was not the situation for any sort of fainting. Riko was grateful Vi was sitting so very close to her, anchoring her, even more so when they landed and Vi didn’t let go, only changed her grip to let Riko lean against her. Professor Snape had landed them already on the first floor, very close to the hospital wing, probably through a window.

But even so and although she was very careful, trying to only drag her leg by moving the hip, it was quite painful to walk the rest of the way. Riko was immensely glad to not move while Professor Snape woke Madam Pomfrey by pounding on the door to the hospital wing, and she was even happier to be helped to sit on a hospital bed, shortly after.

Only when she heard the typical tut-and-tsk of Madam Pomfrey did Riko remember it might not be a good idea to be here, as was, so to speak. She jerked up painfully, almost falling from the bed in her disorientation. But Vi was still there.

“Shh, relax, Riko. It’s alright,” Vi said. When Riko managed to focus on her she winked and put her hand just below the left side of Riko’s hip. Where there was usually her left fang. Oh..

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, croaking a thanks. Madam Pomfrey was tsk-ing even more than usual, her wand still aimed at Riko and then hurried off, muttering about energy potions. Blinking, Riko noticed Draco was gone but Amy and Edie and Potter were here now.

“Malfoy’s first to be questioned ’cause he likely knows the least and isn’t in trouble for anything. Well, and they wanted to give Madam P some time to get us ready for the slaughter,” Vi remarked drily as she noticed Riko looking around owlishly.

“Now, really, Ms Drake, I dare say you did that well enough yourselves! I don’t know what you children were thinking..” the stern voice of the mediwitch made them all wince and had Vi mumble a sheepish “No offence meant..”

“Hmf, of course not,” Madam Pomfrey gave them a look that was both put out and pitying and pushed two vials of whitish glowing potion in Riko’s hands. As soon as she’d downed them, warmth was spreading from her stomach, even from the way the potion had taken. She was still shivering, but it hurt less and it was easier to think and move

“Now, don’t move, Ms Slyver,” the mediwitch ordered, giving her a serious look, and started to mumble, her wand aimed at the wound in Riko’s leg.

It felt odd, a sort of prickling sensation mixing into the still-present, pounding pain. Then with a clink the ugly, jagged sliver of iron landed in a small metal bowl that someone had placed beside her leg when Riko hadn’t looked. It was still pulsing a faint yet virulent pink around its many edges. Madam Pomfrey frowned at it before concentrating on the wound again. It stopped hurting quite as badly, but a sharp, stinging feel remained. Madam Pomfrey frowned even more.

“Tsk. Well, that’s just not right. It will take a while, I’ll take look at it again later,” she mumbled, before checking Riko over again. “I’ll bring you some potions again, later, but first I’ll take a look at you Ms Drake. Why are you even still standing there?!”

She shooed Vi to the next bed, checking her and repeating the extraction for the two smaller slivers in her arm, then she checked the others and moved to the back again for some potions. As soon as her back was turned everyone looked at Riko, all asking the same. “What’re we going to tell them?” Even Potter was looking at her, though he kept quiet, thankfully.

He looked right miserable but Riko couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry for him. She’d tried to think of something already but her thoughts were still hazy with exhaustion, growing ever more so the more time passed. Riko hugged herself and shook her head miserably.

“Dunno, sorry.. The house-dare excuse won’t work, what with.. and if we start with just one thing, it will lead to all the others..” she bit her lip, tugging at her hair. “We can just tell them what we saw once we were there and refuse to say anything else..”

“That won’t go over well,” Vi warned, her brows drawn down. “Not at all..”

“I know that..” Riko hissed in frustration. “I’m open for ideas..”

From their dejected looks it wasn’t just the reappearance of Madam Pomfrey that made them fall quiet, biting their lips nervously. The mediwitch had already treated Amy’s burnt palms, but like the wound in Riko’s tight the effect was more persistent than it was supposed to be. Now, Madam Pomfrey was applying a calming salve and wrapping the hands lightly in gauze.

Potter and Edie both got a pain-relief potion and had some small scraps treated with different medical charms. Potter also had a twisted ankle and Edie had several small fractures along the bones of her left side, where she’d hit the tree, and an ugly red mark on her right shoulder.

At least the wound wasn’t sparking occasional traces of pink energy, like Amy’s palms and the holes in Vi and Riko. Madam Pomfrey was just turning back to Riko when the door to her office opened, releasing Draco, Professor Snape, and McGonagall.

“..directly to you dormitory. Should anyone trouble you, you send them to talk to me tomorrow.” Professor Snape’s tense command sent Draco out the door with no more than a short, curious look back to their silent group. Madam Pomfrey eyed Riko critically and gave her one more of the whitish glowing potions before turning to walk over to the teachers and talking quietly with them. Reporting on their status, Riko assumed.

When they came over it was difficult to say who was more furious. Madam Pomfrey had vanished into her office and Riko felt her absence keenly as the two teachers rounded in on them. McGonagall came over like a walking thunderstorm, bristling with rage, looking for any sort of excuse to explode. Professor Snape was more controlled but at least as scary, like coiled lightning waiting for the right chance to strike in one destructive blitz. He was also keeping his thoughts to himself, clearly set to find any hint or weakness, which made him that much more dangerous than the deputy headmistress in Riko’s estimation.

At first, of course, they wanted to know what they could tell them about the unicorn’s attacker, how it died, what had happened. It was almost a relief to tell everything, well, everything relevant, especially because they mostly wanted to know anything that could be used to identify the creature. Unfortunately it was obvious their descriptions didn’t really help them get an idea what it really was. This was all the worse because it left the professor’s mood even darker when they started on the why and how the five of them had come to be there in the first place.

“What foolishness possessed you, any of you, to sneak into the Forbidden Forest, and at night?! Morgana and Merlin, even without anything that attacks unicorns prowling about, you could have all died! I should summarily expel you all for this utter insanity.. I really would have expected better from.. well, from any of you!”

As McGonagall stormed at them in a clipped, tight voice that made Riko fear she’d really explode at any moment, Professor Snape was looking their group over with a calculating gaze that had Riko look down hastily, scared to give anything away just by looking at any one or thing. She never should have let any on them come along, least of all Potter with his infernal ability to make anything into a mess...

No one had made a sound after McGonagall furious tirade, which seemed to anger her even further. “Well? Am I to assume you have nothing to say for yourselves? I warn you, refusing to talk will make it only worse for you..”

Riko swallowed drily, but neither dared nor knew anything to say, keeping her eyes on the ground. Someone cleared a throat.

“I’m sorry, Professor McGonagall, it was my fault..” Potter’s voice was faint, trailing off when suddenly every eye in the room was fixed on him.

“What!” Riko was sure that McGonagall’s voice could have cut through stone, perhaps even through whatever had attacked them in the forest.

“Err, well, mostly, I mean..” Potter cleared his throat again. “It.. it was a bet, we.. well, Hermione’s always hanging around with, well, with _them_ , and going on about exploring, and so I said, well, I said, if they’re so great and want to explore everything, they should explore the forest, because, because I overheard some upper years had already been inside and gotten out fine, too, and..”

The deadly look McGonagall was directing at him would have probably made Riko swallow her tongue, but Potter just bit his lip, saying the rest in an even faster rush.

“..and, well, they needn’t have taken the bet and we didn’t mean to go that far in and they aren’t even Gryffindors, so they really could’ve just backed down about it, specially ’cause they’re all girls, they’re supposed to be reasonable, aren’t they?”

He was hugging himself, clearly miserably, when he’d evidently, at last, run out of things to say. It was like the proverbial train wreck, Riko just couldn’t help but stare as she tried to process his words and the options they opened. McGonagall’s face was a mask of fury.

“Mr Potter! You.. that.. how could..” she took a sharp breath. “This is simply.. inconceivable! Ms Granger, is this true?”

And now everyone was staring at Amy, and something in Riko snapped. That.. that utter prat, unthinking pond-scum, how _dare_ he!? All but forcing Amy to chose between them and him, oh, she’d show him alright, under the bus and on the _rails_ with him, that thrice-damned..

“You rotten, pea-brained, bloody ass! How dare you try and push this on her, I should choke you with a bloody sock, you prat! And after you all but called her a teachers pet, right in front of us, d’you think we’d let you get away with that?! You think we’re not allowed to have any house pride, that it? Least we stand by our friends, you..”

“Ms Slyver!” McGonagall’s voice was like whip, made Riko jerk and bite her tongue.

As her gaze skittered about the scene, McGonagall’s pale eyes promised bloody murder to anyone who so much as peeped. Professor Snape was still watching with an utterly unreadable expression. Edie and Amy were biting their lips, looking to the floor, Potter was staring, slack-jawed, while Vi had her defensive, neutral mask in place.

After a tense second of silence, McGonagall turned to Amy again. Her voice was much more controlled now, even a little sympathetic. “Ms Granger, is any of this true?”

Amy’s hands shook as she took a breath and opened her mouth, closed it again, then nodded weakly, taking another deep breath. “It’s come up, occasionally, me always being.. the good girl.. and stuff.” She kept her eyes down, talking very quietly and finishing with a weak shrug, nervously biting her lips.

Riko swallowed at the sudden, painful thought that the two months of house Gryffindor not appreciating her friend might have been more unpleasant than Amy let on. Or perhaps still were, from her wording, and Potter’s words in the chamber by the Entrance Hall..

McGonagall’s face had been scary before, but now it turned to razor-edged stone. Her sharp, grey eyes blazed with thundering fury as she took a deep breath and turned, but her voice was like ice.

“Mr Potter! This is truly inconceivable! I can’t remember when I was last so ashamed of my own house! Fifty points,” she pronounced with a hard voice and, as his mouth fell open, continued grimly, “for every life you have endangered with your foolish, abominable behaviour. That will be 250 from Gryffindor! And I will see you and Ms Granger in my office tomorrow, as soon as Madam Pomfrey has released you.”

Riko was shocked, her own mouth falling open at the draconian judgement. Perfect illustration why one really shouldn’t make a Gryffindor mad: they just attacked everything around them: fight, not flight or perhaps think or reason! She shuddered, a croak escaping her dry throat. It was enough to catch McGonagall’s attention. The deputy headmistress’ look was hair-risingly scary in its undirected, apparently absent-minded fury.

“And twenty points from Slytherin, for inexcusable behaviour in the presence of teachers.” McGonagall said, her voice still even, almost distracted as she continued. “I will leave the detentions to the respective heads-of-house. Now I’ll try and see if Hagrid’s found out anything or can use any help. Severus.”

She nodded to Professor Snape, who nodded back, and then the head of Gryffindor quickly walked out, hands balled into fists, back held rigidly straight. Riko noticed she was still shaking, or perhaps again. In the breathless silence that followed, Professor Snape’s calm, precise voice was like a switch, turning the scene into reality.

“Ms Slyver, I, too, expect to see you in my office as soon as you have been released tomorrow,” he nodded at her and strode out, ignoring the others. _His_ face had still been completely controlled and unreadable, just as his voice.

Shocked silence reigned for long seconds, everyone afraid to look at the others, making Riko very uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and looked at Potter, giving him a nod.

“Ah, thanks, for,” she gestured weakly, “th’ sentiment, y’know. Even if it sort of exploded.. You didn’t have to..”

Riko trailed off and bit her lip at his look, wondering absently if he had any expressions that weren’t clueless-shocked or angry, or a mix of both. But perhaps that was an unkind thought, seeing how he had just martyred himself for them. Even if it had been his fault and his execution of it left a lot to be desired. Meanwhile he’d gathered his composure, such as it was, and threw her a grumpy, stubborn look, even crossing his arms in front of his chest defensively.

“Yeah, well, I did almost get us all killed, so..” he trailed off with a weak shrug.

There wasn’t much to say to that so silence returned, only broken when Madam Pomfrey came back from her office, putting her finishing touches on them all. Everyone got at least two more potions and she again cast all sorts of medical charms at their pink-infested wounds, considerably lightening their lot. She checked Potter thoroughly, asking repeatedly about the pain in his head and eyed Riko worriedly, putting a small rack of potions on her bedside table.

“Now, as soon as you’ve stopped trembling, you can drink the blue-violet one, here. Until then, I want you to wait at least ten minutes after each time you drink one of those energy potions, do you understand? I’ll come back again later, to check on you all, I really don’t want to know what sort of creature you ran into there..” and she went back to tsk-ing in a worried tone as she left them.

Again, gloomy silence descended. As she wasn’t allowed to sleep just yet, Riko quickly grew restless and impatient. Watching the clock was driving her spare before even the first minute passed. She fell back against the pillow with an aggravated sigh then dizzily pushed herself up again with an effort. She couldn’t see the clock lying down, and she was supposed to be taking potions until her annoying, bloody damn trembling stopped - not drift off.

The lack of distraction let her mind find each possible thing to worry about. At least it seemed she wasn’t the only one. At length, after three long minutes according to the clock, Potter asked hesitantly. “What d’you think happened to Nick?”

Riko hugged herself, then tried to see if her hands trembled a bit less while she thought on it. “Well.. I don’t think he’s.. gone, you know. He has a rather strong structure of energy. If he’d been destroyed, we’d have noticed traces and such.. Anyway, what do you think Firenze meant? ’Bout that.. thing being brought to the school?”

“It sounds completely crazy! To kill a unicorn, and then drink its blood, it’s got to be really horrible! It’s a terrible curse, to do that, I read all about it, after we were in with Hagrid. Unicorns are real powerful and pure, and if you drink their blood it will keep you alive, no matter what, but the price’s supposed to be a cursed half-life of the spirit..”

Amy’s voice was a little unsure by the end of her description, and Riko couldn’t fault her. It sounded at once terrible and not very descriptive. “You mean you become half a spirit? Or half-alive, like a sort of undead? Or..”

An irate sigh from Amy’s direction informed Riko her distracted questions were not appreciated. Her friend continued talking, sounding at once put out and a little scared.

“Who cares? The point is, it’s really horrible, and Dumbledore’d never let anyone bring something like that here!”

An uneasy silence followed the statement. There was one thing that had been brought to the school, this year. But with the mix of people present, even though they all knew, separately, it’d be a bad idea to start talking about it. Obviously the philosopher’s stone was mixed up in all this, perhaps even the cause of it all. What had Amy said about it at the time..?

She’d even brought the book along but Riko had only quickly skimmed over it, her mind elsewhere, more interested in finding some way to help Edie. Not that they’d made much progress there, so far. But anyway, she could just ask Amy for the book, tomorrow, or perhaps during the week. The others had laid down, but Riko doubted any of them were asleep.

A few minutes later Edie proved her right. “You’re going to be alright, do you think? I mean, in your house, they’ll understand, right?”

There were a few moments of tense, gloomy silence, almost answering the question already. Riko checked the clock, it was now seven minutes. Potter answered quietly, doubt apparent in every word. “Well, I’m sure if we explain..”

Amy sat up abruptly, her voice tight. “You can’t! Harry, you just can’t, promise me! If you even _start_ to explain it will get back to Professor McGonagall, we can’t risk them hearing about Nick, or even worse, Norbert, and if they find out you lied they might really expel you, or even all of us! Promise you won’t say a word!”

“..but Hermione..”

“And don’t ‘but Hermione’ me now! I just had to doom us to losing 250 points, 250! Just to make sure they won’t find out! I won’t have you let that be for nothing!” Amy’s voice was shrill with upset and Riko opened her mouth to correct the insane notion of her friend being at fault for today’s disaster, but Potter beat her to it.

“Hermione! It was not your fault at all, you didn’t doom anyone to anything! I’ll promise, but only if you get it in your head this was not your fault! I wasn’t thinking, I really shouldn’t have said it all like that and..”

“But Harry..”

“No ‘but Harry’, right back! I’ll promise, but only if you admit that it wasn’t your fault! That’s the deal!”

Listening to it all, Riko wondered, looking absently at her still-trembling hands, if insane reasoning and mule-headed stubbornness were something of a secondary trait for house Gryffindor. A tense pause stretched a few long moments, then Amy’s voice, clearly annoyed.

“Fine then! Despite strong evidence to the contrary I declare to be not at fault for losing us 250 points. Now promise you won’t say a single word!”

“Fine then,” Potters voice was almost a mirror of Amy’s, something that had Riko bite her lips to not snicker loudly. “I promise I won’t say a single word, making it completely impossible to explain it to anyone. Happy now?!”

“Ecstatic!” came Amy’s reply, followed by a fitting “Well, great!” from her housemate. Both Vi and Edie coughed discreetly and Riko had to clear her throat to get rid of the burning urge to laugh hysterically. Both Gryffindors gave audible hmphs, but after a short moment they were coughing too, then actually snickering loudly, then laughing.

When they had all calmed down, after relapsing a few times, it was about ten minutes and Riko gave grumpy sigh, looking down at her still-shivering limbs. She’d just finished gulping down one of the white-glowing potions, when Vi spoke up, in a dry, thoughtful voice.

“Y’know, I never could’ve pictured McGonagall say inconceivable like that.. guess there’s at least one good thing to come out of this whole mess..”

Edie and Riko lost their composure again, snorting with laughter and after a moment Amy couldn’t stop herself any more and joined in. Then Edie made it even worse.

“And did you see Professor Snape’s face, right when she said it? It was all thoughtful and tense, like he had to stop himself from saying..”

“..I don’t think it means what you think it does,” they all said in unison, falling back into laughter.

When they had calmed down, again, Amy cleared her throat and asked thoughtfully. “D’you think he knows it, Riko?”

“Hmm,” Riko gave a distracted shrug, poking lightly at her slightly numb-feeling leg as she thought. “I dunno.. could be? I lent my new copy to Tony after the hols, and she lent it to Draco, and he finished it pretty quickly, and I still haven’t got it back, so who knows who’s all read it by now.. ’sides, it’s a pretty old book, innit..”

“Oh, Merlin’s balls..seriously.. y’think..?” Vi’s groan sounded incredulous and gleeful at the same time.

There were a few more snickers floating through the dark, then Riko could hear one by one their breathing even out, while she was still watching the damn clock. It took two more of the white potions and about seven minutes after that, until she decided that she really wasn’t trembling any more, really, honestly, and drank the blue-violet potion. After that she was asleep in seconds.


	19. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things just draw consequences, this is a general rule of life. It is always important to keep this in mind, for every one, lest a spiral of escalation be started..

When Riko woke up next morning, rather late, the whole situation seemed much less entertaining than in the dark of night, when facing the actual consequences and the rest of the school had still been far off. Amy and Potter were just getting discharged by Madam Pomfrey with strict instructions to return if they still felt any lingering effects the next day.

The two of them were looking tense and pale, which wasn’t surprising. They had to go to McGonagall’s office, first thing. And then, after receiving whatever horrible punishment she’d come up with, they’d have to face their housemates. Riko wasn’t quite sure but she though house Gryffindor might actually be in the negative numbers after last night.

Amy’s hands were still bandaged and Madam Pomfrey sternly ordered her to come back after dinner at the latest, to let her check them again. Then the two silently headed out the door, their faces grim. Edie was already gone and Vi was sitting in her bed, looking bored and carefully poking at her left arm whenever Madam Pomfrey wasn’t looking.

“Morning there,” she easily greeted Riko, but her face was sort of tense and worried. “You were sleeping like a stone, even had Madam P worried! I already had breakfast and soon as I’m cleared I get to visit Professor Sprout. Edie’s probably already finished getting her verdict from Flitwick.”

“Well, great, or something..” Riko mumbled, scooting carefully to sit up. Her head was still sort of mushy and she was very thirsty. Come to think of it, she thought she could easily eat at least three helpings of breakfast. She was just about to take a look at her leg, or admittedly perhaps just poke it a bit to see how it was, when Madam Pomfrey descended on her.

After being prodded and poked and cast at for a while, Riko was given a big goblet of water and yet another white-glowing potion, though Madam Pomfrey promised breakfast after that. Then the mediwitch noticed Vi poking her bandaged arm and shot a narrow look at the girl, moving over to check her over thoroughly. She didn’t seem any more pleased with what she found than she’d been with Riko’s leg.

“Tsk.. well, it could be worse, but I’ll have to check it over again after dinner and I’m going to put a few things on it before I let you go.. now hold still..,” the mediwitch started mumbling incantations, her wand aimed at Vi’s arm, occasionally pausing and frowning in thought. After about a minute Madam Pomfrey moved away, absently swishing her wand in Riko’s direction with a distracted mumble on her way to the back room.

It resulted in a big tablet, heaped with breakfast, appearing on the bedside table, so that was quite alright. While she dug in, Riko got Vi to tell what had happened to her fangs and everything she’d missed by sleeping like a stone. She was relieved to be told they were obscured, under her current bed, and when it turned out that otherwise nothing much had happened she tried to entertain and distract her friend from her worries.

Riko didn’t know when Madam P would wander back with the potions she’d mumbled about, after all, and she didn’t want to embarrass her friend by bringing up a bad subject. Besides, Riko thought she had a rather good idea what Vi was worrying about: her family’s reaction to lasts night’s fiasco. Riko was, admittedly, eating rather fast but even so she was a little surprised to be almost finished when Madam Pomfrey returned.

The mediwitch gave her an appraising glance and nodded but moved on to Vi, giving her two potions to drink and spreading a third on a pad to bandage it against Vi’s arm. It was worrying to watch, because usually Madam Pomfrey was more than able to take care of any wounds, jinxes, hexes, and curses. At least the arm looked alright, not swollen or anything.

Having gulped down the last of her breakfast, Riko hurriedly checked her own state, concentrating inwards. The wound in her leg was almost gone but there was still a sort of echo of the massive sliver, like an imprint made with rank, pink-purple energy. Her own natural magic and immune system were pushing against it and had already reduced it greatly, but there was still enough left, where the flesh couldn’t reknit because of it.

Then Madam Pomfrey was back by her bedside, giving her the same treatment that Vi’d just received, followed with tense instructions for them to come back after dinner. And then they were on their way back down into the dungeons. By now it was almost lunch time, enough reason for them to obscure themselves, to evade the groups of whispering, agitated people that seemed to be everywhere.

When they came through the Entrance Hall Riko saw that although they weren’t in the negative numbers, if such a thing was even possible, Gryffindor was now last in the race for the house cup, and by a big margin, too. Exchanging looks they hurried on as more and more people arrived for an early lunch. When they separated Riko made sure to give her friend a reassuring clap on the shoulder.

Then she had to worry about meeting her own head of house. Well, admittedly, she had probably the least trouble to expect. Even minus her twenty points of last night, Slytherin had now taken the lead, which had to count for something. And they had all survived, too, and hadn’t been accused or convicted of anything other than general insanity in taking Potter’s asshole bet. No problem, really...

Riko was glad the corridor was empty when she had to knock on Professor Snape’s door, nervously drying her hands on her trousers and wetting her lips. What with his unreadable act yesterday she didn’t have a clue what to expect or prepare for. When she was called inside it was almost exactly like last time. He was sitting at his massive darkwood desk, writing, several stacks of books and scrolls scattered about around him.

By now her leg, which had started to sting about halfway to here, was pulsing painfully, but Riko drew her shoulders back and walked normally to the chair, no matter how glad she was to sit. She had her pride, after all. This time Professor Snape was watching her closely instead of continuing his writing and it was unnerving.

His face was impassive and he seemed to evaluate her for a few moments before he asked her a question she definitely hadn’t expected.

“So tell me, Ms Slyver, what do you think your parents would make of your actions last night?”

His voice was as soft and deliberate as ever, with a note of curiosity that might or might not be real. It was clearly meant to shock and it worked, if for other reasons then he might’ve thought. Primarily it made a painful wave of homesickness well up inside her. Usually she didn’t think about her parents. She’d see them in a while, no point in dwelling on it, or on how long it might still take. Riko took a calm breath and focussed on answering the question, trying to ignore the bright, painfully happy memories it brought up.

“Well, I suppose they’d both think it jolly good fun, seeing how nobody died..” Riko trailed off with a small shrug.

She wasn’t going to lie to him about that and it was just one more thing she missed about them. Then the picture of the dead unicorn sprang up in her mind and she had to fight to keep from gritting her teeth. They couldn’t have helped it anyway, but still. He was still watching her closely.

Riko swallowed and continued stubbornly. “They’d probably be sorta pissed about the unicorn, though.”

She almost asked if anyone had managed to find the creature and finish it off, but then remembered that she was here for getting a detention and he was a teacher and wouldn’t tell a student anything like that. Stupid, stuffy society of sodding old sacks! Any of her sensei or family would have told her what was going on, even if they were handing out a punishment! Perhaps she could ask Hagrid. There were a few more moments of tense silence, during which he looked at her consideringly, then he nodded minutely and leaned back.

“I see,” Professor Snape gave her a short, dry smile. “There appears no point in writing to them, then. Seeing how there are a few other mitigating factors to consider, as well..”

Riko bowed her head in a nod, and shrug, let her fringe hide her eyes widening in delayed shock, focussing her gaze on her hands, then on the bulge of the bandage on her tight through the hole in her trousers, trying to still her suddenly racing thoughts. She had to stay bloody damn calm! Then she failed to hide a slight wince. In her distraction Riko had moved her leg, making it protest with a sharp, stinging pain in the muscles of her thigh. It helped, both distracting her head of house and focusing her attention on the here and now, but still, _chog-oh_. Riko hastily answered his sharp look of disguised worry before he could even ask.

“It’s pretty much done, should be good as new tomorrow morning, tops. Madam Pomfrey said it’s just taking some time and to come back after dinner to let her check it over again..” she trailed with an embarrassed shrug.

Bollocks, she’d wanted to get this over without making her stupid leg, or any potential rat-tails of it, an issue! He raised an eyebrow but nodded and Riko raised her chin, hoping he’d get done with his verdict but soon. She did have some other concerns for today!

Professor Snape gave a very deliberate-looking blink and she thought she almost saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards.

“I see,” he said again, in a dry yet strangely tolerant voice that made Riko wonder just what all he really knew. “Now, this being an institution of learning, it is customary that students who have been caught flaunting the rules do something useful to make up for it and learn to do.. better.”

It was an effort for Riko to keep her face neutral instead of smiling about his wording. After all he’d all but spelled out that it was the getting caught that was the problem.

“In view of what I’ve heard from my colleagues you will be required to brew a few batches of energy potions. It seems you rather taxed Madam Pomfrey’s stores and it will teach you a few things, both academically and for life,” he shot her a serious look at the words and Riko gave an involuntary nod.

“You will receive a list of energy potions to be handed in, at the latest, on the first of May. You are to handle research and when and where best to brew them, though I can tell you the student’s cupboard should hold all ingredients necessary. Depending on the quality, I may let it take some influence towards your grade.”

“Yes, professor,” Riko nodded again, relaxing.

She was pretty sure she could remember him saying something about energy potions being rather easy to make, some time during winter, before Edie’s birthday, because she’d thought of perhaps brewing her up some, and come to think of it, that still sounded like a good idea..

But anyway, unless his list was excessively long it seemed mostly a chance to improve her potions grade with some work. Not bad an outcome for yesterday’s mess, even if it would eat away time from her other projects. But then, it was supposed to be a punishment and if she was puttering away on some potion it was unlikely she’d be getting into any other trouble, so that was fair enough.

This time she was sure she wasn’t imagining it. The corners of his mouth did twitch upwards before he gave her another nod, closely watching her with his intent, dark eyes. It reminded her of Vi for some reason.

“Very well then,” he said, “I expect you to follow Madam Pomfrey’s instructions to the letter and I’ll see to it you receive the list shorty. Note that as with your last detention you are not allowed to make any house elves help you. Good day.” and he went back to writing.

“..Good day, Professor,” Riko echoed as she left, startled to actually hear such a thing from him. He must be in a very good mood, probably with Slytherin pretty sure to win the house cup again and all. That was really great luck, she didn’t want to think what would happen if he did try to send a letter to her parents.

Distracted by the prospect of a hot shower, fresh clothes, and her mounting heap of new and old things to worry about, it took Riko a few moments to notice the complete and utter silence that had replaced the usual murmuring in the common room. When she looked up everyone was watching her more or less obviously.

Trying to keep as much of her surroundings in view as she could, she made a half turn to have her back to the nearest, the south-facing wall, by a window. Her hands were easy on her side but her stance was classic ready for anything. It was simple instinct, this here was clearly a freaky, unprecedented situation.

The scene remained frozen for a long, uncomfortable moment. Then Bismark cleared his throat, rising from the big study table, where he’d clearly been working hard for his NEWT subjects. He gave her a friendly nod, strolling over the short distance, clearly in no particular hurry and a right tolerant mood. Riko had not relaxed and appreciated very much the slow and measured way he moved as he lightly put a hand on her shoulder.

“Welcome back in your lair then, little serpent,” he said, drily but in a rather warm tone. He winked too.

“Thank you, Bismark,” Riko replied, mind racing, noticing only now she’d slipped into quicktime proper at some point. Well, if this wasn’t an opportune moment, right here, then she really didn’t know. She gave him a grateful smile before going for it. “Not like I did much, though. It was all Potter’s fault, of course, so it’s only right he got his due.”

That got her a rather thoughtful, if still tolerant, look from him, his hand gripping her shoulder gently but firmly, a reminder that Bothrochilus boa was a constricting snake. Then he announced to the room at large, most all still watching more or less obliquely but already with whispers starting up, that he was going for an early lunch and ambled off. Riko made a far less relaxed exit, hurrying for her room while looking only to the ground. She was incredibly glad of the bandage being charmed waterproof and their bathroom so very accommodating. Once activated, the big bath-tub was filled in the time it took her to undress and drink a glass of water. Then, without even bothering to clean herself first, she slipped into the warm water.

It took a number of deep, even breaths to calm down from all the excitement. She needed to think in peace, just for a little while. There was just too damn much going on at the same time right now.

She had to hope she had run enough distraction for Potter and Amy with her little performance. And find out what had happened to Headless Nick. And what her friend’s detentions were, even Potter’s, because she felt she owed him at least a little favour after what he’d done and she definitely had to help her friends with theirs, if at all possible. And find out what that creature was or where it had come from and Amy’s book about the stone..

And she still had to find a way to help Edie, and the next full moon was less than a week away, she still wasn’t finished with the research for that damn lock-and-charm Flitwick had donated to Dumbledore’s weird parcour, they still hadn’t managed to actually trample the Duck Squad even once, and she still had to do her homework, including Transfigs, for tomorrow, and retrieve her fangs from the infirmary, and..

With a deep sigh Riko closed her eyes. She’d just got up, more or less, but she really felt like crawling into bed and sleeping for an entire week. Perhaps eat something before that but just the idea of hunting for something made her sigh again. That was how Tony found her: steaming in hot water and sighing heavily, fingers starting to prune.

“You sure like to strike the iron while it’s hot!” Tony announced upon entering. Then, properly taking note of the warm, misty air, she shook her head with the sigh of the long suffering. Riko could actually _see_ her decide, regretfully, against a comment on water based experiments or whatever. But evidently her roommate was after bigger game.

“Really,” Tony said, putting her hands on her hips and looking down consideringly at Riko in her bath-tub. “After he’d already been so nice. True, it’s not a name but you’re still just a firstie and all. And declaring you a serpent like that, quite the compliment already..”

Riko sighed again, knowing full there was no escaping her bossy roommate now, and pulled the plug of her tub. She wasn’t however going to be easy prey. She directed a mild eye-roll at her while grabbing for her towel.

“Oi, what else would I be but a serpent, eh, Tony? I am after all..”

“Here all of three days out of seven?! Unless you count sleep as interaction? And I don’t even want to know how often you sneak out during that..”

That last part was clearly a lie but Riko wasn’t going to ignore the courtesy of Tony saying it, officially giving her leave to keep that up. And, well, it wasn’t as if Tony didn’t have a point, there. This time, as she rolled her eyes, Riko was raising her hands in defeat, even as she grumbled a warm “Fuck you, Tony, fuck you very much.”

Tony knew when and how to take her victories like a queen and only smiled back regally. Riko just didn’t have the energy to argue and let herself be shooed back into their room for fresh clothes, then kindly informed of the educational address she’d missed by being in the hospital wing, then dragged to the Great Hall for lunch, and then towed back to the common room and pestered with tomorrow’s homework.

At least Draco had already told what he’d seen, so that after Riko told some carefully chosen details Tony deigned to back off and Riko knew she’d make sure nobody else had to ask her about it. In all of that she almost forgot she had to go to the hospital wing.

Only Vi catching her eye during dinner saved her from getting into trouble with Madam Pomfrey. Riko really didn’t want to know what the mediwitch would’ve done to her if she didn’t show up as ordered. The way to the hospital was a little tedious but her leg didn’t hurt half as bad as this morning and Vi said her arm was feeling just fine as well. Her friend had gotten off almost as easily as Riko.

Professor Sprout had told her that if she were to give her detention she’d feel obliged to write home to her parents. But if Vi were to just show up and help her next Sunday re-pot some of her various seedlings, that was another matter entirely. Riko grinned happily when she heard that and immediately told Vi she’d show up as well.

She was glad to also meet Amy in the hospital wing and see her friend was still in one piece, her hands almost completely healed, although she was looking dead gloomy. Apparently house Gryffindor had no trouble placing the blame solidly on her and Riko gritted her teeth with resentment. It didn’t help that McGonagall had given out different detentions for Potter and Amy, and Potter hadn’t even told Amy what he had to do. What was any of them thinking, seriously?

Amy was to write up an essay on why exactly and since when the Forest was Forbidden, including relevant cases of people wandering in and the state in which they had or hadn’t come out. It was a very Binns sort of punishment, almost the outlawed sort cruel and unusual, Riko thought, and it also made it look like Amy hadn’t got any detention at all, made everyone think she’d actually helped to get Potter caught.

How damn bloody idiotic! At least Potter had hung out with Amy the whole day, insisting to any- and everyone it really was all his fault, but knowing him and the general lack of sanity of their house Riko had some doubts about the effectiveness of that.

Vi had met Edie in the library and said she’d looked well enough. Professor Flitwick seemed to have been rather lenient as well. Edie’d have to clean out a few old storage rooms that had been infested with Doxies and Dustwrigglers, to be finished at the start of May, the details of of how and when exactly were left up to her. Riko couldn’t help laughing.

“Well, that’s definitely great, innit? We can help each other out, no problem! Amy, if you find a way to help Potter out with whatever he has to do, you’ll give us word, right?” Seeing her friend look rather dubious, she hurried to continue. “Don’t worry, we’ll be discreet, but we’re not going to let you do this on your own, if you even find out! Promise!”

Riko was ready to pester her friend until she agreed and Amy must have sensed it because she agreed with a shy mumble. Vi gave them a dry grin, still in the process of being checked by Madam Pomfrey, the mediwitch being remarkably tolerant of them as they talked. Amy had found out what had happened to Nick and told them, carefully worded, the ghost’s official story of last night.

He’d been in the forest, just wandering around, when he’d seen an injured unicorn and followed it. Then he’d been hit with a strange magical explosion and literally lost his head in the process. He’d been blasted a good distance away and been disoriented by the whole experience, which clearly meant it had to be very Dark magic. When he’d at last made his way back to the scene he found only Hagrid and the corpse of the unicorn.

They were all properly impressed and wondered loudly what sort of magic could actually harm a ghost until Madam Pomfrey gave them a narrow look to shut them up and then Riko was glad of the cover Vi and Amy provided, so that she could at last retrieve her fangs before the mediwitch sent them on their way to bed with strict instructions to come to her if they still felt anything tomorrow. The next two weeks were very tense and very busy, which was really unreasonable, considering one of them was technically supposed to be the spring holidays.

Riko had remembered correctly that energy potions were rather easy to brew, but she had forgotten that it was also rather tedious, and Professor Snape’s list was not exactly short. When she looked up the principles Riko found they were divided in categories by how powerful they were. Producing a potion of, say, grade three, would take a grade two potions and some work, which in turned took a grade one potion and so on.

The brewing was simple, if time consuming, but the potion had to be activated and charged with the brewer’s wand several times at the exactly right moments. This meant you couldn’t brew too many at the same time, because you had to keep an eye on them to _catch_ that moment. At least, if you didn’t quite catch the time frame but were close enough, they could be salvaged to a Wideye Potion, which could be used to prevent sleep and revive a person from drugging or concussion, so the inevitable miss-brews were not completely wasted.

As they were house days and she officially a serpent now and the potions classroom certainly had to count as Slytherin territory, Riko spent every free minute of the next three days brewing. She was officially in company, as not only the Sorrentinos but a number of higher years also used the room for various brewing experiments.

Professor Snape even allowed her to set up a few cauldrons in the back of the class in her free morning periods of Tuesday and Wednesday, despite other classes using the potions room at the time. On Tuesday she got to watch Edie and Vi’s lesson and be amazed how much more relaxed Professor Snape was with their class. On Wednesday it was the Slytherin/Gryffindor fourth-years, and Riko took care to stay way in the back and out of sight. The Manes had taken the loss of their points very badly and tempers were running high.

Not to mention she had no desire to provoke Fina at the moment. Riko was just too busy to be bothered worrying about the Duck Squad right now, thank you very much! Thursday and Friday were mostly taken up with looking after Edie, it being the full moon yet again. There were just too damn many of them, really.

At least their friend didn’t miss any lessons, but really, losing two days of holidays had to be worse, no matter how good a student you were! They managed to research some charms for cleaning and bits and pieces of the history of the Forbidden Forest while they hid out in the library until it was time to follow Edie to the Shack, but they didn’t get all that much done in the short time.

Then, on Friday, they were all knackered and Riko almost snapped at several random Gryffindors that were eyeing Amy rudely. When she noticed Fina and her crew of goons trying to turn her ink into mud, Riko sent the jinx right back at their table. They didn’t seem to even notice, which just showed they weren’t really studying anyway.

Better to spend the afternoon in the hospital wing with Edie, only running occasional, stealthy visits to the library for new books in their research on charms affecting large numbers of particles and the remarkably entertaining history of the Forest. Much better than sitting in the library, where they had to worry about grumpy Gryffindors hexing them from a distance, messing with their notes and ink and what-not. The weekend wasn’t relaxing in the least, either. Between their research, their homework, and most of Sunday busy in the Greenhouses, re-potting all sorts of plants, most of them rather stroppy about vacating their nice, comfy pots, she was still exhausted when she woke on Monday. The meagre remains of the holidays were just as busy, much to Riko’s disgust.

At least without the damn moon getting in the way they could plan on doing Edie’s detention duty on Saturday. The worst was clearly over by then. They were mostly done regarding their research, Professor Flitwick had promised Edie a good supply of Doxycide, and Riko still had a full week left to brew the few remaining potions.

Potter had only told Amy of his detention, a fortnight of cleaning toilets under Filch’s bulging eyes after lights-out, at the end of the holidays, and refused to let her come for the two remaining evenings. Well, Filch certainly wouldn’t have allowed it anyway, but really, it was the principle of the thing. If he wanted to be this way, Riko’d agree it was his problem then, fine. She didn’t even suggest they do some pre-cleaning, because no, if he didn’t want it he wouldn’t get it. But really, they could already see the end of it all, so clearly, things were looking up.

Saturday morning they were, as usual, early and at the Hufflepuff table. Amy was late, but they didn’t mind waiting, rechecking their notes and reading through the Daily Prophet’s silly articles. The Sun had nothing on it, really. Besides, what with the increasingly hostile way her housemates, even the Prefects, were treating her, they were willing to let a lot slide. Even if she had staunch defenders in Potter and Ron Weasley, their friend had problems enough!

Then someone very close nervously cleared a throat. It was, oddly enough, one of Amy’s roommates, Alanna Eastley if Riko remembered correctly. The girl was looking like she’d rather be anywhere but here, red with embarrassment and flustered when they all eyed her with confusion.

“Erm, if you’re waiting for Hermione, you.. you might go visit the hospital wing..” her tone had become almost panicked, and she turned quickly, hurrying away to sit in the cover of her housemates.

Come to think of it, even with their waiting there was an unusually high number of Gryffindors already here, almost half of the house, whispering in groups. Riko traded alarmed looks with her friends. They stood as one, managing only barely to not lose any of their things in their rush to the hospital wing.

The door to Madam Pomfrey’s office was slightly open, allowing them to overhear the mediwitch as they entered. She seemed to be talking to someone via floo.

“..in the bathroom.. yes, well, as well as can be expected, I already treated her hand and gave her something for the concussion, but the hexes will take a while, nasty combination..no, I think it’s better if you give her a few minutes before you..yes..”

Filled with dread they hastily sneaked by, turning the corner to the more private part of the room. There, behind a few screens, was Amy, sitting in a shivering, miserable heap on one of the beds, huddled into a blanket. If she hadn’t used her ninja-ping before even coming in, Riko might’ve found it difficult to recognise her friend.

At first glance Amy looked as if someone had tried to tar and feather her and when that hadn’t worked as expected had a go at drowning her instead. For a moment no one said a word, then Riko had her arms around her friend without remembering to have moved. Vi and Edie were right beside her, worriedly rubbing their friend’s back.

Amy was crying so quietly that it was hard to notice, especially with her dripping water from head to toe anyway. Riko wasn’t even sure her friend noticed it herself. Only the shivering, the way she was clenching her jaw, and her breathing were giving it away. It reminded Riko painfully that her friend, although brave and brilliant, was still a child, raised by loving parents, civilized people, and not at all prepared for this sort of nastiness. Attacking someone in their bathroom, just how low could you get?!

She’d have done anything to cheer her friend up, make her feel better, reassured her she’d be fine in no time, but when she opened her mouth the thing to come out was “I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them..”

Riko hastily clamped her mouth shut again. But really, now that she was getting a better look of her friend, that was one thing that was crystal clear. Amy’s beautiful dark skin had been turned into shifting layers of glistening tar, even sticky and hot and leaving traces wherever it touched anything. It had clearly ruined her pyjama and looked just ghastly, smeared like oily blood over the small golden star Amy kept on a fine chain round her neck.

The feathers were actually growing right out of her skin, and with their size that had to hurt awfully. At least both effects were already starting to fade, very slowly, the feathers that pushed through the skin starting to fall out and the black goo starting to fade back to normal skin in some places. This, however, allowed Riko to see the number of scratches and freshly forming bruises on her friend’s face and arms. Also, Amy’s right eye was already closing with the swelling around it and there was a nasty bump forming above her left temple.

Clearly Riko had to kill each and every Gryffindor, there was just nothing else to be done about it. Remembering Madam Pomfrey’s words, she left one arm around her friend and moved to take a better look.

“What happened to your hand?” Riko asked worriedly, only barely stopping herself from grabbing Amy’s hands to look at them.

At first Amy only shot her a confused look, and Riko felt her face grow hot. That was admittedly a damn stupid thing to say, what with the state fer friend was in. Then Amy gave a short shudder, reminding Riko unpleasantly of Edie’s breakdown before Christmas. But instead she let out a snort, then fell into a half-hysterical snickering, leaning against Riko.

Giving a weak, embarrassed chuckle, Riko gently squeezed her, hoping the contact would help settle her friend’s nerves. “S’just, we overheard Madam P..”

Amy, making an obvious effort to gather her composure despite the occasional hiccup, gave a weak shrug. “S’alright.. I’ll be fine.. just couldn’t use my left right, got it stomped on..”

“Oh, Amy..” Edie, and Riko felt the same, looked like she really didn’t know what to say, but wanted to say something anyway, to make their friend feel better.

Vi’s face was a dark mask of fury and shame. “That was Fina and Pet, wasn’t it.. I just know it.. I’ll kill them.. Riko, if we do it together we’ll have an alibi.. I’m so sorry Amy..”

As if to make up for the trouble with her left, Amy’s right hand was now gripping Riko like a vice. She shook her head urgently, her tar-trailing hair whipping about in goopy strings.

“Don’t,” her voice was urgent and tight with emotion. “Vi, Riko, don’t do anything stupid! Don’t you dare feel sorry for something that’s _not_ your fault and don’t try and kill them..”

Riko opened her mouth, to tell her there was nothing stupid about it, that the word “try” was really uncalled for, that if she and Vi worked together, there was no chance they’d ever be caught, she really wasn’t quite sure which first. Vi’s expression promised similar reasoning, but Amy just talked right over them.

“Promise you won’t! Riko! Vi! You can’t, you just can’t..” she looked frantic, almost ready to burst into tears, and was shaking Riko’s forearm urgently.

There was nothing to do but agree, really, they couldn’t let her get all worked up again, now could they? Edie, who’d been stunned by both sides of the argument, was trying to get the situation back on safer ground, asking Amy if there was anything they could do for her, when Riko’s head snapped up.

Hastily she drew back, motioning for silence while she drew up an Obscurantis. The others could now also hear McGonagall’s and Madam Pomfrey’s voices as they approached.

There was no way they’d let themselves be thrown out now, Riko could read the determination on their faces. Amy gave them a wink and weak, exhausted smile, before composing herself again.

In the following, well, interrogation, really, it was very unsurprising that Amy told her head of house nothing. What was a little surprising was that she did it so very well. Riko hardly could’ve done it better, really.

No, sorry, she couldn’t say who had ambushed her. It had still been dark and they’d killed the light. Things had just sort of escalated when she’d tried to fight back. And so on, and so forth.

They were certainly all literally true statements, if equally certainly not telling what had really gone on there. Riko wasn’t sure if McGonagall actually believed everything as Amy put it or if the professor just didn’t want to dig too much because she liked the girl and felt for her.

Either way, Amy’s insistence that her head of house not take any more points from Gryffindor quite likely cemented the professors adoration of the girl until the end of time. Not that Riko thought for a moment that was the reason Amy did it. It was most obviously house pride as much as her own, personal pride, not to mention Amy’s incredibly strong, if slightly odd, sense of “fairness”.

Reasoning that McGonagall certainly wouldn’t take points from her for being attacked, and that without knowing who had done it she couldn’t take point from them and that it just wouldn’t be fair to take them from everyone in the house, Amy managed to actually make the stern, irate witch agree to her points.

Riko thought the deputy headmistress would’ve liked nothing better than to do just that, bomb her entire house to zero points in the hope of ratting out who’d done it. But Amy’s rational, smart reasoning touched her heart. It was adorable. If Riko hadn’t been all for that way of action, that was, but what could you do?

It was probably no more than ten minutes after they’d been approached in the Great Hall when a dishevelled Harry Potter and Ron Weasley raced into the hospital wing. They looked like they’d just fallen out of their beds and put their robes over their pyjamas and considering how long they usually liked to sleep in, it was quite likely they really were coming straight from their beds, having just been told.

McGonagall’s ire seemed to dim a little when she saw their shocked faces and awkward attempts to both politely greet their head of house and ask their friend if she was alright. The professor was still quite snappy and stern, but she made her exit, moving to Madam Pomfrey’s office to talk something over with the mediwitch.

Now, while she had obviously appreciated their presence as she had to handle her head of house, Amy seemed ill at ease at the prospect of having them linger about while Potter and Weasley were asking her much the same questions and trying to make her feel better. Not that Riko couldn’t understand it, really. She gave her friend a small nod, an encouraging smile, and signed their plan to depart as soon as McGonagall had made her exit. They were already moving away when Riko had a thought that made her almost slap her forehead, and turned back.

As they exited the hospital wing Vi and Edie were giving her odd looks but they didn’t comment, which probably meant they thought it a good idea, too. Riko thought the way Amy had relaxed when she’d discreetly put her obscured wand near her friend’s hand well worth it.

Amy had after all just been attacked in her own bathroom and was now sitting in a more-or-less public place without her wand. Even with her skills in wandless magic that was just no way to make a person feel safe, yeah, and Riko could look after herself well enough without it. They’d visit again later, she’d get it back then, hopefully someone had thought to bring Amy’s own down to her by then.

Besides, they had to plan. Clearly, this meant war. They had promised Amy they wouldn’t kill her attackers, and knowing their friend she probably wouldn’t appreciate if they just stuck to maiming them, either. But there were enough ways to make them regret ever having been born. In the last few weeks they’d had other priorities, but now Fina and Pet had catapulted themselves to the top of the list.

The way this was completely clear to her two friends, without the need to even discuss it as they sneaked to their room, warmed Riko’s heart and let her relax just a little from the tense, burning anger that had nested inside her after seeing Amy like that. Because this meant war, was as removed from their usual usually light-hearted or denfensively-equal antics as humanly possible, had no more relation to their usual pranking than a tank to a bike.

Later, much later, Riko would perhaps admit that maybe things had got a little off track, but she’d insist forever that while it was in progress it had all made perfect sense. And besides, it just proved that if you’re really focussed on something, then chances are good you’ll get it done, no matter what.

It wasn’t like they suddenly ignored everything else, not at all. They just viewed everything, their homework, their detentions, each and every lesson, every single minute in the library, every damn moment between lessons, with only one goal in mind. To get back at the two older girls. And if they wanted to get involved, then the same would go for the rest of the Duck Squad.

Unsurprisingly, between the four of them and given their absolute focus, they found many, many ways and opportunities to plague their targets.

Doxies and Dustwrigglers could be used for great effect, after all, and rereading and daringly modifying various charms, especially those affecting large numbers of particles, gave a person all sorts of fun ideas to test on her enemies.

The bottles of fresh Wideye Potion were just asking to be used with some creativity in administering, as did the Forgetfulness Potion, and the Swelling Solution, and the Sleeping Draught, just for starters. And if you tinkered a bit and read carefully through the ingredients and cases in which it was or wasn’t supposed to be used, well, even such surface-serious potions as the Antidote to Common Poisons or the Cure for Boils, yes, even the very generic Herbicide could make for hilarious effects.

Riko was certainly glad she didn’t have to be present when Madam Pomfrey treated the results of what in combination with the theoretically healthy body of their victims turned into a powerful laxative, while they were sporting giant dimples all over their bodies, which had for some odd reason turned a violent shade of sickly, greenish yellow.

Really, the possibilities were endless. They had also, just a week ago, handled a number of plants just begging to be visited in the dark of night, to be used in various entertaining ways, be it for certain potions or direct application. And there was good reason the fae were feared as tricksters, their magic called unholy mischief, especially the first stage of Obscurantis saw, or rather un-saw, much use in their endeavours.

If you added in a few ninja tricks and the absolute ruthlessness of their combined focus.. well, even a few first-years had the potential to be quite devastating. Not to mention that when they visited Hagrid he wasn’t at all loath to give them a few hints and pointers and although most of the spells in Professor Viridian’s book on curses were rather useless for direct duelling, they were very useful to harass and annoy certain people.

Additionally, the mood in the castle was very much in their favour. Numerous people from her own house and quite a few early-rising Ravenclaws had seen Amy as she’d made her way to the hospital wing, straight-backed and chin held high despite her miserable state.

The story was all over the school before lunch, specially after Vi had been quizzed by her own housemates on what exactly was up. Then, while Amy had to stay in the hospital wing over night, McGonagall addressed her house on the evening of the attack.

The result was, in short and beside Potter and Weasley gleefully teasing Amy that her head of house thought the girl had more good sense and chivalry in her left hand than the rest of the house combined, that the whole concept of Gryffindor honour and chivalry had been called into doubt. Most of them had been quite ashamed already but now it was a matter of pride. It probably also helped that McGonagall had relied Amy’s reasoning about the potential loss of points for house Gryffindor and added that, regardless of this, unless she saw them live up to their supposed values, she’d make sure herself that Gryffindor had no chance of earning the house cup again, ever. And then there was also Completely Headless Nick.

The Gryffindor house ghost was so incensed when he heard of “that foul, cowardly deed” as he fittingly put it, that he decreed he’d throw the “ghastly, despicable curs” out of his house if he were to ever find them out. They hadn’t seen much of him in the two weeks before because they’d been so busy, but now he could often be found floating beside Amy at mealtime and sometimes on the way between classes, as if guarding her against any other attacks.

In this climate, Riko wasn’t overly surprised when, after a couple of pranks, the Weasley twins made the connection and started their own pranking crusade against Fina, Pet, and by then also Andy. And the two red-heads, two years above them and legendary for trouble making, clearly knew their, well, trade. It was from there that things started to really get out of hand. Andy’s fate changed the tone of what was already being referred to as prank war, widening it’s scope and drawing in more players. Because even if he really couldn’t stand his older brother, Mencius wasn’t going to take it lying down when the Ravenclaw boy was found wandering the seventh floor in his underwear, dripping foul-smelling goo and staring utterly befuddled about. House Ravenclaw didn’t take kindly to it, either.

Similarly, a Slytherin putting less-than-sneaky hexes on any Gryffindor, in the courtyard of all places, wasn’t going to be tolerated by anyone in the house of supposed chivalry. His later getting trounced in a sort of weird hexing kerfuffle, by the fractured, floating rumours of it, drew in not just Delie and Arista for family ties. Now house Slytherin was looking for revenge as well.

In the ensuing chaos each house had some stake. The Beltane Armistice for the party at Hufflepuff was the notable and singular exception: by now even the prefects were getting drawn in, not to mention the house-unrelated and intra-house feuds acting up in the cover of what could actually be called fog of war. Well, some, like Percy Weasley or Robert Hilliard, a fifth year Ravenclaw prefect, insisted on trying to bring order and rules into the chaos. But they were outnumbered by far and only succeeded in making themselves into more tempting targets than they already were.

The Untouchables remained focussed on getting revenge on Fina and her crew, very careful of who else they targeted, mostly just the most ridiculous rule-sticklers, really. Riko’s own yearmates, however, had little compunction in that regard, and soon there was a vicious feud going on between Draco’s group and Potter and Weasley. The Sorrentinos and Em were ruthless all-opportunity-pranksters and Riko almost laughed her head off at the masterfully innocent looks on Farrah and Cynthia’s faces, after chasing off the dustwrigglers someone had hid under her own bed covers. It was, comparably and in context, a pat on the head, really, specially from those two.

Then there was the occasional, mostly light-hearted Patil-vs-Patil thing, which tended to draw different allies each time and then someone ambushed Vi’s roommate Alice, which lead to Susan Bones leading a sudden, surprising, and not at all light-hearted crusade against any possible suspects, which of course drew retaliation of varying viciousness from the targets, be it because they were guilty or unwilling to be attacked without provocation. And so it went on an on, spreading chaos and confusion in a sort of weird vicious cycle.

Edie remarked one day, amused and awed by the latest scuffle they had to move past en route to their room, how this must have been how the thirty-years war went down. Asked about it, she pedantically admitted that at least there were no real casualties here, but as Edie explained what little she recalled from the history-lessons Oma had given her, Riko found herself agreeing. The principles of spreading lawlessness and changing sides and such were very similar indeed.

Regardless of such historically interesting parallels, however, their group was surprisingly well-positioned, considering they had more or less started it all. They were “ickle firsties”, as the Weasley Twins had at one point teasingly remarked, and thus often underestimated, both by opposing parties and professors looking for the cause of some mess or prank. They also had Amy and Edie, accepted by all teachers as good students, level-headed and unlikely to cause mischief. Just standing beside either would usually send members of the faculty on their way, looking for the culprit elsewhere. Not to mention the number of times they stopped Riko or Vi from retaliating or springing a surprise attack, only to have a teacher round the corner and see them doing nothing forbidden, everything alright here, professor.

Not that the professors weren’t partial themselves, and not just the heads of house, who, while resenting the chaos, weren’t going to let their students get trumped “just like that”, no, even the normal teachers reverted to their old house-loyalties. Riko wasn’t sure how it went for her friends, but Professor Snape had only given an address on not getting caught and the like.

Well, it probably wouldn’t have had much effect if he had told them to just stop, so of course he wouldn’t. But although he was annoyed as burning about it all, he was also right, hm, stiff-backed about it. A sort of “I am ready”, of “Just come at me and mine” underlying his every move, as the prefects made sure they wouldn’t mess up certain spells, wouldn’t use anything that’s just not legal, _don’t be_ _bloody_ _stupid, Bassenthwaite_ , and so on.

The Untouchables had made a point of not pranking the Twin Terrors of Gryffindor, they’d after all considered them sort of allies for a while. This turned out to have been a very good move because those two were really scary once they got started. Just ask Mencius, who’d had his eye-sight mirrored and had to stay in the hospital wing for days, because he couldn’t stop writing “I’m an inbred, idiotic nincompoop” on everything around him unless his hands were bound with a thick scarf of red-gold wool.

Riko in turn was quite proud to have found out how she’d managed to make an actual plant grow from Pet’s head, that time round Christmas, and put the trick to best use in numerous situations. Their big project, however, was even better. It had taken a lot of work, not helped by the next full moon falling smack on the weekend in the middle of May, but they all agreed it was worth it.

Thus, on the evening of the last Monday of May, Riko was bone tired but at the same time high on giddy, gleeful energy. The four of them had hardly caught any sleep last night, but when they’d met in their room before dinner, Amy had carried the pleasant confirmation it had worked.

She’d overheard two third-year girls talking about it over lunch: Fina and Pet had gone to the hospital wing, because they were unable to go near any sort of toilet, tap or spigot without, well, deeply offending it, or something. They’d all had a hard time stopping their laughter at that description, and the warm feeling of success was still with her at dinner.

Riko had chosen her seat carefully, for maximum coverage of anything interesting or threatening, with cover among her housemates a close second. This meant she didn’t have a good view of the high table, so when the headmaster rose and with a booming, magnified voice addressed them all, Riko had to twist around a lot to see him properly.

“Ahem, I don’t think the Great Hall’s been quite as colourful in some time,” he looked over the four tables, his eyes dancing over the numerous victims of the very popular field of discolour-hexes.

After the first week Madam Pomfrey had been fed up with people coming to her in all colours of the rainbow. She’d decreed she’d only treat anyone whose conditions was still the same after a full day, which had of course made the hex even more popular. The headmaster seemed to have trouble keeping a straight a face and cleared his throat again.

“As much as I enjoy the variety and appreciate your youthful exuberance, I feel I should remind you of a few things.” His voice was light, but also carried a note of gravity that gave his words weight and made everyone fall silent to listen.

“It’s been a while since the start-of-year feast, so perhaps some have forgotten that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors,” he gave them all an indulgent smile before continuing with a more sombre expression on his face.

“Also, not only are students to be in bed at night,” now Riko had for a moment the very odd feeling of being stared at, across the entire hall, by a pair of amused sparkling blue eyes, “but there is also the matter of exams. In only one week you will all be busy showing what you’ve learned here at Hogwarts, some for the final time.”

He looked somewhat nostalgic at the words, as if he’d miss every single student who’d graduate. The other teachers’ faces had become very serious now and they were eyeing the student body like hawks. The headmaster gave a sigh, then adopted a more serious manner.

“In view of this, I have been convinced to take a more active stance, regarding the recent rash of magic outbursts. Whoever is caught in the act of preparing for, or participating in a prank _will_ fail this years’ exam. They will still be required to take the tests, but regardless of their performance, they’ll be treated as having failed, required to retake the same classes again next year, not to mention the usual measures of detention and so forth will apply as well.”

There was a collective gasp at the words and he nodded gravely. Watching the stony faces of McGonagall and Professor Snape, Riko had no illusions as to who had come up with that drastic idea. She knew that in the last week there hadn’t been even one instance of a potions or transfiguration lesson passing without some sort of harmful incident.

They’d clearly both had enough. There really was a sort of irony in it, as Professor Snape and McGonagall had clearly worked together to get the headmaster, and the other two heads of house, to this point, despite their well-known rivalry, which really just went to show, didn’t it.


	20. The Coup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dungeons are visited again, this time not for recon. =3

It was as if Dumbledore’s announcement had woken people from a dream.

Before, although there was the occasional Ravenclaw, or Percy Weasley, even some academic members of her own house, no one had really given any thought to the upcoming exams. Despite Professor Snape reminding them of it! But now, suddenly, everywhere you looked or listened, people were going on about them as if they were the end of the world.

It was sort of hilarious, seriously. Perhaps some of them had hoped that with the prank war going on, the teachers would grade more leniently and were now sorely disappointed. Actually, Riko thought, considering how annoyed the faculty had become in the weeks of pranking, the opposite seemed far more likely.

At least the official end of the prank war gave her, finally, the time and incentive to open Amy’s thick tome on this philosopher’s stone, it had been lying on her bedside table under various other short-time-use books and notes for over a month now.

Its title, _Miraculous Cures and Artefacts of the Ages_ , explained why her friend had even checked it out from Madam Pince at the time. Relaxing against the headboard of her bed, Riko thumped the massive tome open at Amy’s marker. It was in the middle of the chapter, but the rest was probably not important if Amy hadn’t mentioned it.

“ _The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

_There have been many reports of the Philosopher’s Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).”_

After those two paragraphs it continued with a flowery description of their curricula vitae, which Riko really didn’t have the patience for, thank you very much. Following that came a bunch of madly advanced alchemical notes that went over her head entirely. She frowned down at the book. Enjoying a quiet life, was he?

Well, no wonder, leaving others to deal with the mess his stupid stone attracted or caused, whichever. Clearly, what- or whoever had killed the unicorn had also been responsible for the break-in at Gringotts. Probably been hurt badly there, needing unicorn blood to survive. By then he or she wanted the stone even more, to get past the curse of half-alive half-spirit or whatever. What a mess.

In comparison, Riko almost rooted for Quirrell to get the stone. At least he was human and would probably not do too much damage with it, except perhaps overdosing repeatedly with whatever he was addicted to and lowering the market value of gold a little. Which of course didn’t mean she’d ever let him _get_ the stone, but that was another matter entirely, and would soon be taken care of, too.

Well, first she had to clear it with her friends who had also been caught by the exam-virus that had replaced the warrior spirit of the last few weeks. Privately Riko thought they were prepared reasonably well, but of course Edie and Amy didn’t agree. Instead, over breakfast the very next day, they were setting up a tight schedule to read over every little thing they’d noted down, ever, at least once before the exams.

Riko kept quiet about her thoughts on this until a small owl almost landed in her plate of eggs and bacon. After checking the content of the small package she grinned wolfishly and stole a piece of Edie’s bacon to give it to the bird before it fluttered off. For some odd reason this seemed to unsettle her friends, who were now eyeing her warily.

“..What?”

“Riko.. you know prank war’s over, right?” Vi’s voice was radiating dry amusement as the Hufflepuff eyed her with curiosity. Riko hadn’t shown them the content of the small package.

Instead of doing so now, she gave them a gleeful, excited grin, letting the laughter she was holding in shine from her eyes. No need to attract attention from anyone looking for stubborn pranksters to fail in exams. Putting on her second-best innocent face she put the package in her pocket.

“Oh, I know, no worries, I’m not going to do any pranks..” she enjoyed a few more moments of their sceptical, impatient expressions, before continuing with a relaxed smile and airy tone. “Just got the last thing I was missing for, y’know, that little side project. Now I’ll just need that feather from you Vi..”

At their incredulous looks Riko almost lost the battle to keep a straight face. To cover it up, she fished the stone from her pocket and placed it on the table between them. “See, it’s a fire agate, I got it all planned out. No one’s gonna catch on before we’re gone for the summer..”

“But the exams.. and all the teachers are just looking for anyone who’s still making trouble,” Edie groaned, looking very worried.

Riko, who had expected Amy to be very much on board with this reasoning, looked sharply at her Gryffindor friend. Amy was biting her lip nervously, her face a mask of worry.

“It’s really dangerous, now.. really dangerous, I mean..yesterday evening Harry overheard Quirrell,” seeing their incredulous looks at being told of this only now, she hurriedly continued. “He thought Quirrell was talking to Professor Snape, but anyway, he kept saying ‘soon, very soon, only a little while’ and something about it not being the right time yet.”

Amy looked down at her plate of toast and sausage, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry, I meant to tell you, but I got caught up in preparing for the exams..”

Riko gave her friend a narrow look before waving her fork in a negligent motion and leaning forward, talking quietly. “Well, that completely proves my point. I’m sure Quirrell wasn’t just sitting around doing nothing all this time, either! We’ll just get the stone before he does. That’ll teach him, and Potter, too! And then we get rid of the damn thing real quick.”

She quickly answered their questioning looks while she whisked the fire agate back into her pocket. “Well, that Firenze fellow said something’s been brought to the school. The stone’s obviously either cursed or has some weird influence, perhaps its magic sort of reacts with things around it, or whatever. Either way, it’s obviously not a good idea to store it in a school, just look at Quirrell!”

“But Dumbledore..” Amy tried, but Riko talked right over her. “Of course, being his friend, Dumbledore agreed to take care of the damn thing for Flamel, but I doubt he would’ve done it if he knew what was coming with it. After all, as headmaster he’s got to make sure his school and students are safe. So we’re really doing him a favour, see?”

Somehow her friends didn’t look entirely convinced, but they didn’t argue, either, so that was something. “So what’s your plan, exactly,” Vi asked, very neutral and even, but the corners of her mouth were quirking upwards. Riko shot her a grin and motioned them closer.

*

The rest of the week was filled with lots of revising and Riko fretting, privately of course, trying to make _sure_ everything would work, going over every little thing she’d researched and prepared. One thing was clear: if Potter were to show up at any point or time, they’d call it off and run for the hills. But other than that, Riko thought they had a pretty good chance.

They had after all three out of seven traps in their pocket already, if you counted Professor Flitwick’s infernal lock as done. And Quirrell’s protection was unlikely to be anything overly difficult, she was quite sure. Admittedly, that left probably the hardest three still completely unknown, but that couldn’t be helped. She’d just have to make sure she took everything they could possibly need along.

They had all agreed nobody would expect any sort of troublemaking on the weekend before exams, so that’s when they’d strike. Hiding out in the library on Friday evening was laughably easy; with so many people trying to cram in some last-minute learning Madam Pince had no chance of keeping track who was where and how many people were in which section.

They didn’t have to go far from the library, and with no steel crowbars along to mess up their Obscurantis, and Riko continually activating her ninja-ping to make sure no one was sneaking around them invisibly, it was not surprising they reached Fluffy’s room without incident. The locking charm was different from last time, proving that someone had indeed been around to snoop since the last time they’d been here.

This time, Edie had prepared her little copper flute with a charm so it was playing the same lullaby over and over as soon as she tapped it with her wand. It worked perfectly, just as last time, but they had to float Fluffy, very carefully, away from the trap door on which he’d been dozing, hardly daring to breath until he continued snoring in his new spot. After that, removing the locking charms from the trap door seemed positively easy.

Amy suggested they all conjure a small whisp before casting Wingardium Leviosa on themselves and floating down into the dark and it was a good thing, too, to have the little bits of light bopping below them. Otherwise they could’ve gotten into real trouble: the Devils Snare had grown a good bit since their last visit, the hungry tentacles it was sending upwards had become disconcertingly longer.

They distracted it with their whisps, who didn’t trigger it’s aversion to light for some reason, and landed directly by the entrance into the tunnel, hurrying into it. Edie was clearly impressed by the big room with the flying keys. When Riko told her the particulars of her plan, however, she made a tense face, standing back a good distance from the lock.

Riko emptied out all the things she’d need from her rucksack and quickly went to work. It was great luck she could use a griffin feather, that way she could leave the silver, pixie brass, and lead as powder, and didn’t have to try and work with it molten. Especially with the quicksilver properties she had to imprint that was a good thing, she didn’t want to worry about poisonous smoke.

This way she just had to thoroughly cover the feather with the powdered metal, fuse it with lightning, anchor in the required charms, sink it in a vial of live quicksilver and activate the bonding, then do the same with the next layer and so on and so forth. Even so, it was tense, delicate work as she constantly had to check and link her work to the lock beside her.

If she did it just right, used the margins and manoeuvring space of the involved spells just smart enough, then she’d be able to use the forming skeleton key for a lot of locks, which was of course very tempting. But Riko knew she better make sure it definitely worked on this one lock rather than botch it because she was hoping for a bigger turnout. It was like walking a fine rope while juggling fireworks, but it paid off.

Riko hardly dared breathe as she inserted the almost-finished featherkey into the lock, whispering incantations and directing fine lines of magic both with her wand and through the fingers holding the proto-key. A gust of warmth blew out of the lock, but the featherkey held fast, and then she felt it settle, and then turn, move past that catch there, slide and click into this notch there...

With a light, giddy laugh Riko drew back. The sound of the lock opening could be heard even over the fluttering of the keys. With trembling fingers she extracted the featherkey, looking at it. It was symmetrical, making her smile fondly at Professor Flitwick’s penchant for forethought. Clearly, if you wanted to get out from the other side, you’d need the same key.

“Oh! You did it! Riko! You’re fantastic! You’ve got to show me how!” Amy was jumping up and down with excitement and glee.

Riko took a deep breath and very carefully put the key in a small leather sheath she’d prepared for it, letting it fall into her pocket. Only then did she give an answering grin, feeling proud and giddy enough to bounce with happiness. “’Course I will. Hah, am I a genius or what?!”

“Or what..” came the dry reply from Vi, but her friend was grinning like a cat that got the cream and actually put her hand to her hat in a mock salute.

Edie, still at a cautious distance, laughed at their antics and gave a few claps, as if grudgingly impressed with their performance. Then she gestured to the wall, where the broomsticks were now glowing with the charm evaporating but their alarms not triggered. “Look there! They were linked to the wall?”

Riko took a look and had to laugh while she nodded. That was exactly right. The charms on the broomsticks weren’t, or rather hadn’t been, tied to the magic lock but to the magic that reinforced the wall. How smart, that way there was no reversely traceable link from any mutable objects to the lock itself! Flitwick really was a great tinkerer, she’d make sure to learn as much from him as possible!

She hurriedly put away her materials so that Edie could approach without having to worry about catching any powdered silver. Both Amy and Vi stepped up as well, now that they wouldn’t distract her or step on any fine equipment. Riko cautiously put her hand on the door handle, glad when nothing else happened.

Her ninja-ping was unable to get any info. The heavy wooden door and the wall it led through were obviously strengthened with some magic that swallowed the effect. Well, nothing to be done. Checking with a look that they were all ready, she pulled the door open.

The next chamber was so dark that Riko could only see some vague, still outlines of figures. But as they cautiously stepped inside, the door behind them closed with a resounding click and light flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind rows of ominous chess pieces, all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. They all had to suppress a shudder – none of the chess figures had faces.

“Well,” Riko wet her lips. “That’s got to be McGonagall, I bet you! All sorts of showy and straight-up and sharp..”

“Hey now..” muttered Amy, but absently, distracted by the eerie looking challenge.

“Looks like we’ve got to play to get across, yeah?” Vi commented, her tone worried. Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

Edie nodded. “Looks like it..”

In the tense silence Vi clearing her throat sounded strangely ominous. “I think we’re gonna have to take the place of some of the figures.” She wandered over to the black queen, touching her mantle. At once, the stone sprang to live. The queen turned regally, looking down her sharp, freshly formed nose at them, and gave a grave nod.

Edie and Vi traded looks before they both turned to Riko and Amy with dubious expressions. “Just how much did you two play your sets since Christmas?” Edie inquired after a moment.

Riko threw her a look and crossed her arms. “..’bout two weeks ago, last time, and I let you win, because you looked so crappy.. then we were kinda distracted by other things, if you remember..” Amy looked sort of embarrassed, but nodded at her words.

“Well.. it’ll be easier if you don’t play anyway, less figures we can’t sacrifice..” Vi remarked drily. Riko shot her a look of mock-outrage. It wasn’t that often that she lost to either of the two girls, or her housemates, unless she meant to or was just distracted..

Vi and Edie traded another, amused, look and then mumbled some names between them, before nodding and moving to the board. Vi took the place of a bishop while Edie took a rook, the black stone figures shuffling off the board to the side. They waited patiently for a while. Nothing happened.

Vi cursed fluently and Edie made a stormy face. A few tense instructions later, Amy had taken the place of the end pawn in front of Edie and Riko had become the queen-side knight. As soon as the last black piece had disappeared to the sidelines, a white pawn moved forward.

“Ahno, so what plan, exactly, do you two have?” Riko asked tensely.

Neither answered. Instead, Edie gave a command that set one of the black pawns to move forward. It took only a moment for white to make it’s move, and it seemed to irritate Vi already. She gave an order that sent a pawn into danger. A white knight swung at the pawn and shattered it with his lance, breaking it into tiny pieces.

After that, they all had to take a moment. Then Edie and Vi started to explain their plans before they were about to give an order. It was sort of funny – Riko didn’t think she’d ever paid that much attention to every single thing that was said about every single move. Especially with this clearly not being a Slytherin set.

After a while there was a pause in the game, everyone staring about and thinking hard. Edie had been playing chess since she was five, Vi since she was six, though she admitted to not liking it very much. Amy hadn’t played before coming to Hogwarts, but was rather good at it, if she didn’t get distracted or carried away by her insistence on dramatic last stands and overly courageous moves.

Riko had mostly watched, occasionally, before, and had a few games with Eliria-sensei, but as she’d told Vi: for her, there were usually more entertaining things to do, so she wasn’t very interested in historical moves or what-not. She shot a look to Amy and knew the other girl saw it too, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Riko cleared her throat.

“Shut up, Riko!” Edie and Vi said as one, so they’d seen it, too.

“Well, it’s the best way, really. I draw out the rook and we have the king in two moves..” she insisted, stubbornly.

“I’m not gonna let some bloody Gryffinborish war-game lop your head off!” Vi stormed, Edie almost simultaneously calling Riko an idiot and ordering her to stay put.

With a snort Riko made her move, calling up a shield as she did. In hindsight, it might’ve been better to test it beforehand. Then she wouldn’t have been quite as surprised when her magic drained away far quicker than it should, severely weakening her shield. It held enough though, slowed the attack so she could to evade the blow to her head.

Instead, the stone that shot out from the rook caught her shoulder with an unpleasant crunch. Riko only noticed she was sitting down, when she was already on the ground, drawing a deep, careful breath. “Ou-ch, bloody shite.. No, don’t _move_ , you’ll forfeit..”

They’d all jerked forward to help her, catching themselves only at the last moment. It certainly helped that she was still able to talk. Riko didn’t want to know how they’d react if it had hit her in the head. She’d probably have never lived that down, if they’d lost because of that. Also, her shoulder hurt abominably. However, she didn’t dare try and heal herself before they’d finished the game, lest they panic and try to help her because she didn’t answer.

“I’m going to kill you myself, you nutcase!” Vi ground out after she’d quickly sent the other knight forward to take out the bishop, shooting her a furiously worried look.

Riko responded with a tight grin and a teasing “Well, I had a plan, y’see..” to make her friend feel better and also to distract herself from the pain. Then, clenching her jaw, she looked away, well, around.

A white pawn had moved forward in a desperate attempt to protect it’s king, but Edie ignored it, hastily moving four squares forward and that was check and mate! The white king toppled over backwards, shattering as he did so, the other pieces turned and walked off the board. Her friends immediately raced to her side with their wands out.

Riko shook her head and raised her one working arm in a placating gesture, shushing them. “Chill, seriously, I’ll be fine.. just give me a minute, I gotta focus..”

Then she concentrated inwards. It had been quite a long while since she’d had an injury she could actually heal, but it was still very easy. You just had to strengthen that link there and let it draw this here, it didn’t even hurt, much, and then..

Riko opened her eyes, seeing their impressed faces, and gave a weak shrug, a little tired from her derailed shield and the effort of drawing up and then re-routing energy inside herself. “Now, if I could do that for you, that’d be real useful..”

“You bloody idiot, what in Loki’s name were you thinking?!” Edie burst out, obviously barely stopping herself from shaking Riko roughly, her hands trembling.

Amy’s face was greyish-pale with shock, while Vi still seemed to be contemplating murder. Riko gave a light grin, a warm feeling spreading from her stomach at their concern and triumph over McGonagall’s challenge.

“Well, I’m not saying sorry, we did after all win, and I’m fine, too,” she crossed her arms, giving them a proud smirk. “Besides, any means to achieve your ends ring any bells here?”

They gave her an incredulous look, then Vi raised an eyebrow, countering drily with “I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

They all groaned and smiled and Riko mumbled a long-suffering “You’re so not smart,” giving her friend a grateful grin as she drew her up.

They approached the door cautiously but it was just a simple door, not even locked, and behind it a boring, normal passage, ending in yet another simple door. Riko felt out with her ninja-ping and her magic, well, tried to, but she couldn’t read anything beyond it. Unlike Flitwick’s wall there was some odd interference here, like thick, clinging mist.

She gave a tense shake with her head and traded looks with her friends. When they nodded, Riko pushed it open. Cool, unused cavern-air wafted out, only noticeable because of the strange air-lock effect, different from the corridor air only in the slight smell of moss and lichen. The room remained dark until they stepped in, the door closing behind them with a sharp click. Then a cold, dim light began to glow from the rough stone of the chamber.

It was, despite being definitely just another cave, Riko had been in enough caves, entirely different, as if the proverbial clingy mist that had stopped her ping really existed, only invisibly so, coating everything in a smeary, distracting residue. In the weak light it was hard to make out what the challenge would be, there seemed to have been no stonework done at all, in here, great gouges and rifts in the walls and ceiling.

Then the challenge made itself obvious. A giant boulder right by the other door, the only one with moss and lichen growing on it, unfurled with a grinding sound that in no way fit the unhurried, fluid movement, standing up, up, up. If Riko had thought the troll of Hallowe’en tall then this one was gigantic.

Instinctively, in reaction to the very real threat to their lives, Riko slipped into quicktime and charged forward, trying to come up with a plan while distracting it from her friends. They’d read up on trolls, after Hallowe’en, and found out just how very lucky Amy and her two Gryffindors had been.

There were of course numerous, entirely different species called troll at some point by someone or other but this here was the actual, real thing; living, sentient stone. They were near on impossible to injure, of course, or influence, once they’d made up their mind. In many ways the ideal mercenary, and this one was clearly set as guard, and not the friendly, riddling sort, either, judging from the enormous club.

All curiosity about what they were really, actually like, the stories and books had very differing views between them, vanished in the face of that enormous blunt instrument, wielded like it weighted no more than her wand, as the Troll headed over, towards her and her very squishy friends.

Quickly drawing up a few whisps, Riko gave a loud yell and watched with some satisfaction as the troll turned and lurched in her direction. This turned to dismay when she realized that this room was just as much opposed to magic being worked in it as the last.

Spitting obscenities, Riko had to concentrate on one whisp, feeding it a steady stream of power to keep it about, while the others winked out. She lured the troll to the side of the room, then jumped through the shadow to the door, to try and open it. It didn’t budge, even as she cast her strongest Alohomora and other Unlocks on it.

When she looked up, Riko was alarmed to see the troll almost on top of her. Channelling energy into her legs she jumped back to where she’d drawn it before, foot soles sticking to the wall as she waved and called, making her whisp move around her sluggishly. Only moments later she was even more alarmed, barely evading the deceptively slow strike from it’s monstrous club and landing in a very inopportune corner with a curse.

What came next, however, was really, well, surprising. Suddenly there was of whirl of differently coloured light around the troll, shuddering like a living thing. Then it exploded with a loud bang, reminding Riko, of all things, of Christmas dinner and the wizarding crackers she and Vi had opened. When the blue smoke had dissipated there was, instead of the troll, a very odd-looking, many-footed, polstered footstool.

Behind it Riko could see the shocked faces of her friends, wands still aimed at the funny, occasionally wriggling piece of furniture. She couldn’t help it, she laughed, almost dropping to the ground from the hilarity. That was before she noticed it’s strangely wet, sticky texture, just like the walls, ugh. After that she just leaned against the wall, catching her breath, her heart still beating a mile a minute.

“Alright, then, what’s that? How did you even..?” To be honest, Riko was amazed. The books had said the best bet was usually to transfigure it into something less harmful, but that was very hard to do, on account of a trolls’ comparatively high resistance to any sort of magic that wasn’t associated directly to the element earth.

“Err.. well.. you remember how McGonagall said that in transfiguration it helps when there’s a common aspect, like in the name or something..” Edie started, adorably on autopilot after the danger had passed, and closely followed by Amy’s instinctive reaction to a question. “..and if you turn something living into something else that’s alive it’s easier to mess it up completely, with the most likely result being a puddle of disgusting but harmless goo.”

Vi’s face was almost completely straight as she very drily remarked, “That’s a tuffet.” They all shared an embarrassed look, then Amy cleared her throat.

“I was trying for a turtle,” the Gryffindor sheepishly admitted. After a shared look, Edie and Vi mumbled, almost simultaneously “Turkey” and “Tarantula”. Then, just like Riko moments earlier, they all burst out laughing.

While they were still catching their breath, Riko carefully approached the tuffet. It had exactly eight small, curved feet, now that she looked closer, and it’s surface was covered in fine feathers, aligned to show the pattern of a turtle shell. It’s top was domed, like the shell of a turtle, too. And it was wriggling.

With a smirk Riko concentrated on her Demon Eyes, trying to judge the stability of the transfiguration and, as soon as they’d calmed down, Riko declared with a proud smile “If McGonagall ever tries to fail you, just tell her that one. Looks like it’ll hold up for a handful hours at the least. You really are certifiably brilliant, I’ll draw up an official certificate for every single one of you, if you like..”

“Oh, shut up, you! Coming from you it’d only get us a score of Troll, no matter our wandwork,” Vi snorted, but she looked very pleased and gave Riko a friendly clap on the shoulder. They all grinned as they moved to the door, which now opened without protest.

It led directly into the next chamber, a very practical, no-nonsense sort of room, with one table in the middle and reasonable light coming from the walls and ceiling. There were seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line. Of course it was a trap.

As soon as they cleared the threshold, a wall of violent purple fire sprang up in the doorway behind them. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway lading onwards. The room was closed, and they stuck, unless they found out what Professor Snape’s challenge was and how to get past it. At least it was infinitely more reasonable than a murderous troll.

The first thing they checked was, of course, the table. Riko quickly took the scroll lying next to the bottles, spreading it so the others could read it, too.

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Riko giggled, sharing a look of amusement with her friends. Gods and spirits, this was so like Professor Snape! _Oh, look, I’m a potions master, have some potions. Now see if you’re smart enough not to get done in by them._

“It’s a logic-puzzle.. Wow, Professor Snape really has a wicked sort of humour,” Edie breathed with a shudder, clearly impressed.

Amy agreed with a mischievous smile. “Yeah, that’s so Professor Snape! Lots of powerful wizards haven’t got a shred of logic in their heads, they’d sit here forever!”

“Alright then, lets get started,” Riko drew out her notebook with a flourish, placing it beside the scroll and started to write. “Let’s make a list! I’m sure we can argue it out without, but seeing how we’ve got the time, I’d rather go for maximum clarity..”

Amy nodded, talking along while Riko wrote very quickly. “Three poison, two wine, one to go on, one to go back..” Riko left an empty box beside each entry, to be filled when they knew which number in the line each of them was. Then they went through the hints.

Wine would always have poison to its left, so there were two pairs of poison-left-wine-right and three wildcards, which had a lot of possible combinations. But the second clue gave them two more hints. The first and the seventh were different and neither would let them advance. This left them with four possible combinations, two of them placing the sixth potion, too.

Number six was the largest and number four the smallest, so neither of them was poison, which meant that number two wasn’t either, as told by the fourth clue. After that it was really quite easy. They checked it three times, just to be sure, and to reassure Vi and Edie, who looked a little sceptical at their quick jabbering and pointing and scribbling.

Then they hit another roadblock. The potion to walk forward was the very smallest, its bottle so tiny that only one person could reasonably take a sip from it. Riko furrowed her brow, thinking. Then they all had the same thought, wand out and casting detection charms on it.

And it turned out they were right, the light-blue of a Refilling charm was glowing and flickering around the small flask. They shared a grin and Riko grabbed the bottle, taking a sip. It felt like ice was flooding her body, only not as unpleasant as that sounded. She nodded, hastily pressing the bottle in Amy’s hand and hurrying forward, into the black flames.

It was eerie, being completely surrounded by black fire, watching the black flames licking over her but not feel them at all. Then she was through. Still feeling fresh and frozen, Riko quickly put her arm back and gave a thumbs-up, hoping they could see it. She wasn’t sure just how thick the wall of fire was, and then she hurriedly drew back, as the feeling of warmth returned to her body.

Her friends followed quickly, and Riko gave Edie a tight hug. The Ravenclaw girl had come through last and she’d had the presence of mind to take the bottle along with her. As they were looking around the chamber, a little bigger but essentially as normal as the last one, Riko felt a wave of unease well up.

There, smack in the middle of the room, was the Mirror of Erised. Riko let out a groan. Vi was looking very uneasy, while Edie and Amy shot confused looks at the mirror and their two dismayed friends.

“..Yes? Something you want to tell us..?” Amy asked after a moment, Edie looking curiously over her shoulder. Riko blew out a loud sigh, drawing her hands through her hair, thinking quickly. How best to tell them..?

“A’right, that there, that’s the Mirror of Erised..” she gestured vaguely as she continued quickly. “Vi and me sort of stumbled by it, more or less, after we’d come back visiting you that first time, Edie. Well, actually it’s a bit complicated..”

Seeing their, hm, _attentive_ looks, she gave an apologetic smile before even starting to explain, distractedly drawing on some streaks of hair by her ear.

“Alright, you remember Vi and me caught Potter sneaking about with his cloak, yeah? So we followed him to some out of the way corridor and chamber on the third floor. Turns out he’d found it the night before and wanted a second look at the mirror. And then there was the headmaster, just explaining everything about the thing to him, before telling him it was going to be moved somewhere else in the castle...”

Riko gestured weakly at their looks and hurried to continue because, no, she had no good explanation for any of that, either.

“Anyway, we didn’t even get a real look at it, because we couldn’t go in, with Dumbledore being able to see through Obscurantis, so there wasn’t anything to be told, really. Not that I want to, y’know, it even had a real bad effect on the headmaster, and he’s Dumbledore! Ah, yeah, effect..”

Riko was very glad to return to the matter at hand, the mirror and it’s magic. Both Amy and Edie looked tolerant enough, so that was alright then. She shot them a very grateful smile before continuing.

“Dumbledore was a bit odd about it, y’know how he gets, but basically it somehow shows your deepest, most desperate heart’s desire, making you all sorts of miserable and waste away before it, because you keep looking into the mirror all the time.”

Judging by their disturbed looks they felt just like her about it. “Yeah, totally creepy, I know. Anyway, now that he’s used it for his challenge we’ll have to think of something, or try it, separately, while the others can make sure to draw the looker away or something..”

Riko had moved closer to the mirror while she talked, making sure to stay away from its face and not to look into it. Like with the flasks in the last room, her Demon Eyes proved to be useless. The mirror was shining so brightly with coalescing waves of magic that there was no way to see any single, separate charms or hooks or hints.

A while later they’d tried every detection and testing charm and spell they could think of, they’d tried to just feel at it with little tendrils of magic, Riko had even tried a few ingredient-based low-magic tests and scryings. All to absolutely no effect. They shared a very uncomfortable look. Riko raised her chin and took a deep breath.

She spoke quickly, to forestall the arguments they were already trying to voice. “Hey, hey, hear me out first, alright? It’s completely logical! The mirror tries to make you miserable, yeah? Well, I’m the one least likely to be miserable, ever, so I have much further to go to get there! Also, you’re all sort of direct, no offence, and my being a little crazy might make it harder to read me right, too, and besides it was my idea to do this!”

It was a sign of how creeped out they were by the mirror that no one made either a funny comment or tried to argue her points. Instead they looked positively miserable.

“Oh, relax! I’m not going to suddenly go nuts! Even Potter didn’t! And anyway, I’m already used to listening to you being sane for me, so even if I do start acting funny, I’ll follow you if you decide to drag me out.”

Amy and Edie gave her weak smiles at that and Riko answered with a jaunty grin, glad for Vi’s silent support and resolute nod. She felt a little bad for making them worry so much, having admittedly exaggerated the mirror’s direct effect a bit, if only by implication. But still, better than any of them getting inflicted with whatever weird magic that thing obviously put into people’s head! Riko didn’t care to see any of her friends sit in front of it with the sort of broken expression Dumbledore’d worn.

Shoving those thoughts to the side, Riko closed her eyes while she moved to stand directly before its face. The shorter she looked into it, the better. Absently, she wondered how it even read her mind? Like the hat? Was there some magic to protect yourself from objects like this, or did you just have to work on not-thinking, or separating you thoughts into different layers that protected each other, like an onion, or..?

Riko impatiently shook her head, as if to chase off the distracting, unhelpful musings, and resisted the urge to call up her Demon Eyes, even if she kept it in reserve. No point in potentially blinding herself right away, she wanted to get to the Stone before Quirrell did. For all she cared, Flamel better look after his Stone himself, spice up his quiet life a bit, down in Devon! Not to mention it would absolutely prove her point, if they got it now!

Taking a nervous breath, Riko opened her eyes, staring defiantly into the giant mirrors’ face. Oddly normal, she saw her reflection, looking determined and spooked. But a moment later the reflection gave her a sharp smile, making her suppress a shudder and narrow her eyes.

The mirror-Riko put its hand into her, or its, pocket and, still smiling, pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the stone back in its pocket – and as it did so, Riko felt something heavy drop into her real pocket. By whatever odd mechanism, or perhaps just incredible luck, Riko had got the stone!

She sharply drew in her breath with a hiss, slipping into quicktime and activating her Demon Eyes as she hurriedly took out the stone to hold it out in front of her, trying to see any remains of whatever magic had held it inside the mirror. The stone was positively pulsing and dripping a sticky-golden, honey-like energy, letting a very subtle net of power-threads just now recede back to the mirror. Reflexively, Riko’s other hand shot out to catch it.

She had to step forward to sort of wedge in her forearm so that it couldn’t retreat, or snap back like a slingshot, into the great tangle of power-threads that was the mirror. The net was so fine, if she were to grip it directly, it would surely rip, letting the entire thing dissolve back into the main body of magic. That just wouldn’t do.

“Riko! You got it! What are you..”

“Amy, quick, hold that for a moment and let me concentrate..” Riko talked right over Amy’s exclamation.

The net did have a lot of pull, damn it! As soon as her friend had hastily taken the stone, Riko shook out her wand, already being drawn closer to the mirror. Her eyes were narrowed, darting over the elaborately carved frame, ah, yes, there was a good angle!

Riko’d never been so glad for all the properties of her wand. It was an object of power, housing a core of magic, it was blunt and smooth and still intended as a tool to be worked with. What she did now would’ve near impossible with one of her fangs, and it would’ve been much, much harder, if at all possible, with just her hands or some other object of power.

Her tongue poking through her teeth in concentration, Riko carefully worked her wand around her forearm, so the net was resting against it, twisting it very carefully three, four times. Then, in one quick motion she let go with her arm and slid her wand to the corner of the mirror, by its left foot, wedging it in the artful, gilded carving.

She checked it again. The net was still attached.

Riko leaned back on her haunches, then sat down, letting out a short, relieved laugh and dropping back into normal time.

Now that she could take a more relaxed look, Riko saw that the threads were indeed a different, if similar, sort of power from the mirror. But with the mirror as dominant as it was nobody would be able to find the little attached pocket of magic tied to it. Even if they knew of it, given the very elastic link, it would just forever evade, blending in with all the threads of power that surrounded the artefact.

There was really no way to mess with this sort of safe unless you already had it open, in which case you probably wouldn’t be interested any more. The weird, sort-of-circular logic was very Dumbledore, really. Riko was insanely curious why it had opened for her, but that was unfortunately a very unlikely thing to learn. She couldn’t very well ask the headmaster, now could she?

“Now what? You already going nuts after all, or what..”

Vi’s dry voice carried a stiff dose of worry, drawing Riko’s mind back to business, as it was. She was at the same time feeling very tired and hyped. Taking another deep breath she made sure her hands were steady and turned back to her friends with a triumphant grin.

“Nah, I’m alright. Seems Dumbledore did a sort of overlay. No weird, desperate desires lurking around for me. Anyway, let’s get this done, before I have to buy a new wand. It’s holding the pocket out, and there’s some serious pull on it..”

Both Edie and Amy shot worried looks at her lodged wand now, following up with a couple of detection charms. Amy had put the stone hastily back in Riko’s hand, and while she was quickly fishing in her pocket for the fire-agate, Riko’s brain caught up with the situation. She gave deep, heartfelt groan, slapping her hand and the philosophers stone against her brow with a curse.

“What?” Everyone asked, alarmed.

“I’m such a _complete_ idiot, k’so..” Riko groaned. Holding the two stones out to her friends in her palm she explained. “See that? There’s still that little bit of charm missing..”

“..the one that lets us get away with it, even if someone were to come for the stone..” Vi continued. “Oh, no.. Riko, your wand..”

“Heh, yeah. Didn’t think there for a moment, sorry..” Riko grinned embarrassedly, already paging through various mad ideas. “Alright,” she drew herself up. “Amy, you got dragon in your wand too, c’mere.. I got my notebook here, so there’s no need to panic. I based it on the standard-charm for colour replication, ’cause that’s working with light..”

“..which is very close to energy, right, let me see..oh, what? Like that? But isn’t that..? oh, so there.. I see.. hmm“

It felt like a very long while that Riko spent alternating between explaining her notes and research and the final spell to Amy and checking back with her wand, wriggling and turning it carefully. It was a little springy, so it could take some bending and pulling, but the longer it took, and did it look quite that curved when she’d last looked..?

Vi was a great help, explaining some underlying theory parts Riko had looked up on charms and transfigs used for building and forging structures of different matter and how to let it draw just the right amount of power. After what seemed like ages but was probably less than half an hour, Amy drew her wand very carefully over the blood-red stone, pulling up the first threads of magic.

Her tongue poking out between her lips in concentration, Amy traced first the basic measures, continuing on to the more tricky parts, wriggling her wand this way and that, gathering up and building small, billowing cloud, misty yet shining with sparkles. Then she linked it to the agate. There was a flash of white-gold light, leaving after-images dancing behind their eyelids as they all blinked reflexively.

Then the fire-agate looked exactly like the Philosophers Stone had, while the latter was suddenly several shades darker! Their alarm faded when they noticed it was gradually lightening again. Probably because the power necessary for the fire agate to double as the legendary philosophers stone had been drawn out very quickly from the original.

When she looked at them both with her Demon Eyes, Riko could see no difference, magically. Admittedly, the original looked like it was just coming in from somewhere very cold, but other than that..

She gave a crowing laugh. “Fantastic, Amy! Now quick, while we still know which one is which..” With a wink she grabbed the copy and headed for the caught pocket and her poor abused wand. Within seconds she had it back in her hand, eyeing it worriedly, checking to make sure it wasn’t permanently bent now, before tucking it away.

Riko looked up at her friends, grinning from to ear. They grinned back, Amy proudly holding out the stone. The giddy energy of their success bubbled up from her stomach, making her laugh with pure happiness. These grand, brilliant, fantastic people were her friends! Oh, the world would be their, well, not oyster, because they were sort of overrated, and in any case better off and more useful in the sea, but something like that, definitely!

None of her friends seemed surprised or less than appreciative when Riko impulsively hugged them all to her, tightly. In moments they were a tangle of wildly hugging limbs, as they all tried to express their happiness and show each other just how much they appreciated, well, each other. In hindsight, it was not surprising at all they’d overbalance, landing in a heap in front of the mirror.

They were still giggling, rubbing their back-side or whatever they’d landed on, when they looked up, very relaxedly, directly into the mirror. It took a moment to register, and even then it was difficult to get worked up, somehow. Riko saw herself and her friends beside her, sitting up. Instead of her weird not-reflection doing things on its own, the image remained very much the same.

Except, she became aware, their reflections were looking older now. And again. She blinked. Her own face, but grown-up, looked again back at her. Beside it were clearly still her friends, though also grown-up. Still sitting entangled and then standing up relaxedly, helping each other up and leaning against each other. Then they all, even her own reflection, looked out of the mirror, mischief dancing in their eyes, gave a happy wave and raced away.

Like any other painting in the castle, just leaving its frame to go wherever else. Riko blinked again, but the mirror was quiet now, only showing what was supposed to be there, minus them of course. She looked at her friends, their eyes wide like hers. She had to wet her lips before she could speak.

“Y’see that, too? That was us, yeah? Racing off and stuff?”

They nodded, mutely. Riko took a deep breath, forcing her eyes away from the mirror, although she was very curious if their grown-up selves would suddenly jump out from behind the frame and into view again. They’d seemed the sort to think that funny, which admittedly it was, but anyway that was beside the point.

“We better beat it, I think. Whatever overlay Dumbledore did, ’s obviously still real weird..”

“Yeah.. ’nd I’m starting to feel sort of tired, too,” Vi replied.

Her voice was back to her usual dry humour and she didn’t look tired at all. Riko gave her a grateful smile. She was still filled with the gleeful energy of having actually managed this coup, but they weren’t back safe, yet. Riko still had to make sure the rest of her plan worked out, allowing them to enjoy their success.

As one, they stood, helping each other up and moved away from the mirror. Riko drew out the small lead case from her rucksack and buried the warm, blood-red stone into the black sand that filled it. Then, taking care to move a few steps away from Edie, she wrapped it closed with silver-threaded bands of silk, then thick wool. After sinking it into her bag she made sure they’d left no traces.

Getting back into Professor Snape’s room was easy enough and they replaced the forward-potion where it was supposed to go. Riko wasn’t sure if the purple fire would stay once they were gone, but if so, it was all the better, really. When Vi had joined them in the cold, echoing troll-room and the fire vanished without a trace behind her they were all a little disappointed.

The turtle-turkey-tarantula-tuffet was still wriggling about, but they hardly spared it a look. Quirrell certainly knew some trick to get past his own troll, probably part of the agreement in the first place. When they reached the chess-board again, making sure all doors were closed as they should be, the pieces were all back at their starting positions, even the ones that had been taken out and shattered. They took great care not to touch any of the pieces as they made their way back.

The featherkey still held the shape it had assumed and allowed them back into the flying-key-room. The brooms, however, stayed as they were even after the door was locked again. Riko just left them, a little embarrassed her key seemed to have missed some portion or hook of the lock’s charms after all. But then, it had worked well enough, really, and so what if the bait in that trap was loose now.

The trap itself was still live, the trigger now defaulting to attempts to open the door without the proper key, which, same difference, almost, right? Then Riko gently shook the key, a brilliant marvellous gift courtesy of Flitwick’s lock, really, and lightly blew over it.

It wriggled a little, then sprung to a blank, then moulded into a shiny-metallic feather. The giddy feeling of complete success put an even bigger spring into Riko’s step, making it that much harder to stay focussed on finishing the operation properly. Vi, who’d kept a very close eye on her, was giving her a wink and nod that helped, though.

By the time they landed beside the still-playing flute they were all knackered and had no problem at all keeping the gravity of the situation in mind. Something about floating up a giant, black cavern with a big, clingy heap of tentacles waiting on the bottom helped focus the mind on everything that could still go wrong.

They didn’t bother moving Fluffy back to his spot again, the slight warbling sound in the lullaby-charm not helping their tense mood at all. Riko was so glad to at last be able to use, actually use, her ninja-ping again, she couldn’t stop herself from giving the nice, normal wall and door a gentle pat. Then, everything returned to how it should be, they could at last collapse onto their couch.

It was a good thing indeed that their room was almost directly beside the door to Fluffy, Riko wasn’t sure their nerves would’ve survived a longer walk. Not so much because of their deeds, it felt a bit like a variant of Shizuka’s only slightly potentially lethal track or training courses, but because of all the attached ballast to this fact and even more so the stone.

She wanted nothing more than race up to the owlery immediately, but this was one time they just couldn’t risk it. Besides, they had to prepare the package properly, first. When at last the sun was at a hight that would allow for unchallenged travel in the corridors they were dead on their feet with nerves and exhaustion.

Only when they watched the school owl fly off, fading into the distance, Riko released her glamour of the headmaster and they all finally allowed themselves to relax. With the stone, heavily swaddled in all sorts of things for containing its power and distracting from it, the big tawny bird carried a note. The first note to ever be signed by their team, into which had gone no small amount of thought and work over the course of the night.

At least a dozen pages of her notebook had been sacrificed for drawing it up, though the final draft had been written on a transfigured cauldron cake. It made for a nice irony, they thought, and it also meant one less chance to trace them. They’d also used one of Vi’s liquorice wands, transfigured, for a quill. Vi was just now finishing the destruction of that piece of evidence and later they would make the ink a sacrifice to the giant squid in the lake.

Riko had written the note, very carefully and with her left, because she thought of them all she had the least to fear if anyone ever tried to tie anything to them. Besides, it had been her plan and idea. Now they’d just have take a real good look at the Daily Prophet for the next couple of days, to see if the man actually answered, as per request in their note.

 _Dear Sir,_ it read

_we couldn’t avoid noticing you property, barely protected, lying around the place in what we understand is supposed to be a place of learning. Considering the unpleasant attention it has already garnered, we felt it our duty as people of some skill and gentle persuasion to send it back to you, discreetly and post-haste. Please receive it with our best wishes for you to keep it out of trouble yourself._

_We would very much appreciate to read from you, to assure us the package has indeed reached it’s proper home and we needn’t worry about such a volatile item travelling the world all on its lonesome. Unfortunately we are in no position to give you a proper return address, so please refer to the Daily Prophet’s inexpensive advertisement-section as a poor substitute._

_Respectfully and in good humour,_

_The Untouchables_


	21. How Many Faces (May One Wear)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, the heist is done, but is that really all there is to it if the heist isn’t even known to be done? Sometimes, staying out of trouble is to not being in trouble what getting away with a trick is to getting the trick done in the first place..

Not even Amy or Edie made any mention of revising anything that day. Instead they spent their time down by a well-hidden spot at the cliffside of the lake, dozing in the sun. By dinner time they were spooking everyone around them with their good mood, but as they hadn’t been anywhere near any trouble they were left alone, though watched with curious looks.

For Riko, life was good. And though they found back more quickly to their exam-worries, she knew her friends agreed. Simply the knowledge of their deed was enough to bolster their belief they could do well in some test or other. They’d left no traces and sworn a magically binding oath of secrecy. Now even if they were asked about it they could really only say that they couldn’t say anything. The weather was insanely good, too, so whenever they weren’t actually doing their exams in large, swelteringly hot classrooms, they spent their time revising outside.

There were written exams, for which they were given special, new quills bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell, which made them disgustingly scratchy, and some subjects had a practical part, too. Professor Flitwick wanted them to make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk, calling them in one by one, while McGonagall looked down her nose at them as they tried to turn a mouse into a snuff-box. Riko thought hers looked rather pretty, circular and dark red lacquer and ivory, it didn’t even have whiskers! Admittedly, the four tiny feet were very reminiscent of small claws, but that was clearly part of the design, like on a bath-tub.

On the day they were to write Astronomy there was an ad in the Prophe: “Warm regards to the gentle and skilful for their generous gift of cake, entertainment, and pretty stationary. Best wishes from two old faces!” All four of them kept on grinning through the entire exam, making Professor Sinistra eye them with much suspicion. They were still occasionally smirking during the potions theoreticals.

For his practical, just as Edie had guessed and Riko had agreed, Professor Snape wanted them to brew up Forgetfulness Potion, gliding silently between the tables as they worked. They had to drink it afterwards, too, so it was sort of reassuring to have him move about like that. Of course he didn’t give any hints but he just couldn’t stand to see a student botch this easy task, so watching him could be helpful. That was if you didn’t know, which was of course not the case, they’d made good use of it during the prank war, but it was a good thing to know about her head of house, and also entertaining. Riko almost screwed up her own potion, so distracted was she by his brilliant play of micro-expressions when he walked through the Gryff isle.

The last of their ten tedious tests was History of Magic on Thursday, and although Riko thought Molly Archer had been right about the subject being actually quite interesting, this test definitely wasn’t. Who cared what batty old wizard invented the self-stirring cauldron, they were useless in potions, anyway! She’d been so sure the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct would come up, or at least the following uprising led by Elfric the Eager, but perhaps that was just because she’d found them interesting, herself. Amy would be so disappointed, she’d looked forward to writing down her own take of the developments that had lead to the entire mess.

Then it was over and Riko threw down her quill with relish, cheering with the other students. She was itching with energy waiting to be unleashed with some prank. Without waiting for the others she raced down the small spiral staircase, headed for the kitchen. Then she saw Quirrell, sneaking around a corner, as if he was hiding from someone again. Of course she followed him.

He ducked into a dark, empty classroom, lighted only by the torches of the corridor. Definitely odd, but then, what about the man wasn’t? And he was already talking to himself again! Sheesh, he hadn’t even bothered to close door, pacing about inside, whining, no, it was more like a giddy sort of grovelling.

“Tonight, master, yes, I promise, everything is prepared..”

Riko’s eyebrows shot up. Then she heard a second voice, high pitched and not as loud as Quirrell’s. It was berating the man, but Riko couldn’t understand it very well through the not-quite closed door. Well, it was clear what she had to do. Quirrell was facing away from the door and she could squeeze through without touching it, she was sure.

It worked without the slightest problem, the door didn’t move a hairs breath. Even Obscured Riko liked to stay in some sort of cover but that was a lost cause here; like in most unused classrooms the desks and chairs were stacked against the wall. A second door up by the board was leading to what was probably the usual storage-room.

There was definitely nobody else around, so who was Quirrell talking to? Neither the third form of Obscurantis nor her ping revealed anything invisible. Very carefully she drew up power for her Demon Eyes, looking around again. There had to be something, and very close to Quirrell, from the sound of the voice, which continued calling Quirrell a slow coward and pathetic excuse for a servant.

Then it told Quirrell to look around and Riko froze, holding her breath. She knew for a fact Quirrell couldn’t see through the Obscurantis, but if she did anything at all now, to catch his attention, her spell would dissolve immediately! His nervous eyes were darting about the room like those of a trapped animal, but after a few moments he relaxed a little.

“There’s nothing here, master, nothing here..” His hands shook and his face was drawn in a painful grimace. He looked wretched and greedy, and he wasn’t stuttering at all.

Then his right hand shot out, moving jerkily through a sick-looking motion. Much more disturbing than that, however, was the angry pink-purple glow of power this drew up. Riko had a very bad feeling and readied herself for a sprint out of the room, no matter if Quirrell noticed her, then. But it was too late. The door slammed shut with a bang and she could see pink energy shimmering along it’s entire frame before it seemed to melt into the wall.

Without even noticing when exactly, Riko had slipped into quicktime and was now analysing the situation as best she could. With no windows and the door lacking its usual slits she was trapped, k’so. If only she knew Amy’s trick, now! No time for cursing, what was here to know? Riko tried to find anything helpful in the room, but nothing presented itself.

There was only Quirrell and her in the room, magically speaking, and he looked utterly disgusting and just.. wrong. Perhaps foolishly, Riko had never paid overly much attention to how normal people looked when viewed by her Demon Eyes, but Quirrell was looking anything but normal, she was sure nobody should look like that, ever. He was standing frozen, staring at his arm with a sick mixture of surprise and pride. Focusing, Riko could now see tendrils of pink-purple power, snarling around and even through him, like Corpsevine twining through one of its victims, but originating from a brightly pulsing nest in his head. She shuddered and shook her head to dispel the disgusting picture.

“No.. no, you blind imbecile, I’m sure.. Turn again! Let ME see..”

“But master..please..” Quirrell whined, then a shudder shook his entire frame.

“Remember you place! Now, let me see..”

Sniffling, his face a wretched grimace of pain, Quirrell’s hands went to his head, pulling the pin that held his turban closed and he turned around, away from her, slowly. As the fabric of the turban fell around his shoulders, his trembling stilled. His head looked oddly small without it, and the way his frame was drawing upwards reminded Riko of the time they’d been introduced, in Diagon Alley.

Now her hands were shaking. Of course! It wasn’t something or other that had broken into Gringotts that day, it was Quirrell! But next she had an even bigger shock to deal with. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell’s head, there was a face, one of the most terrifying faces she’d ever seen. It was chalk white with only two slits for a nose, like a snake, and glaring red eyes, as if it had a permanent spell of Demon Eyes active.

And those eyes were homing in on her! Riko felt a ripple of disgusting, clingy power trail over her and knew her Obscurantis had been whisked away like so much spiders web. It was the worst case of being caught without any mask or cover she could remember. Her heart was racing in her chest like it wanted to escape through her ribs, her face at once hot and cold with shock and embarrassment.

The face gave her a lazy, satisfied smile that made Riko feel ill with dread. “Shouldn’t have drawn up power like that, dear, I can taste it..”

She could only blink at that, still not over the shock of being caught with her trousers down like that. The face seemed pleased about her flabbergasted reaction, continuing smugly.

“Too bad you had to be so very nosy, dear child,” it drawled. “I would have preferred not to harm any of my own house, all chosen by my ancestor.. but alas, needs must.. I know a Slytherin can understand this, even an odd half-breed like you.. too bad, my subtler magics don’t work while I’m still in this pathetic host.. that was quite interesting in the forest, oh yes, the research I could do..”

As it talked, Riko’s brain had started to work again, fed by pulsing adrenaline and screaming at her to find a way to get away, to keep it talking, to draw it out. “What.. who are you?!” She didn’t have to act, her incredulousness was entirely real. She’d never even heard of anyone or anything becoming a, well, whatever that face was..

The smug look changed to one of anger, the face looking for a moment hysterically like it had bitten into a fresh lemon. It was quickly replaced by a superior, haughty look, that was almost equally comical, though perhaps that was hysteria setting in. Riko blinked and bit her tongue, sharply, to get her mind back to finding a way to survive this. There had to be a way out..

The face managed to look down it’s non-existent nose, somehow, and decreed in a sharp, sibilant voice. “I am Lord Voldemort, direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and I will return wizardkind to the position of power it was always meant to hold..”

He looked about as unhinged as she’d expected from what she’d heard of him so far, and he certainly sounded it, too. The part of Riko that could never quite shut up about this or that funny thing, always commenting or suggesting, needling with _wouldn’t it be fun to see what happens if_ mentally added “once I’ve got me a body again” to the obviously, well, mental statement. It was all she could do to bite her tongue and keep it in. Something of her less than impressed thoughts must have showed on her face, though, because the Volde-face shot her an angry glare and continued with a nasty smile.

“Not that you will have to worry about that. Consider yourself a necessary sacrifice for the greater good..” He looked both giddy and annoyed and in-all completely unbalanced. He raised his wand awkwardly and with difficulty, what with being in a body that was constructed to, ahaha, face the other way.

Riko had slowly moved back until she was close enough for the door to be in range of her personal circle-range. Considering what had happened in the forest, clearly her best bet was to get away, for which she’d have to get past or disable the magic on the door. An idea had formed, and she’d been tensing, waiting for the opportune moment, drawing up power into her hands and structures into her mind ever so faintly...

_“Eru Eru Namo-meirin, Sere-o wanga tateto-”_

As soon as he’d started bringing up his wand, Riko had shot discretion to the wind. But even so, casting faster than she could remember ever having done, it wasn’t enough. Stryper had been the only choice, given the situation, and it only needed two quick gestures, but the incantation, though comparatively short, was much longer than Voldemort’s.

 _“Avada Kedavra!”_ he hissed.

Despite his handicap of being all backwards, Riko had only finished about three quarters of the spell, when the bright bolt of green flashed from his wand. There was no way to dodge it. Desperate, she could only pour every last ounce of power and will into the almost-finished shield of anti-magic. The last thing Riko saw was the circle and shield that had been building around her deforming, like a balloon struck with a very dull needle. Then the flash of green slammed into her, lifting her off her feet and throwing her backwards. There was pain, a lot of it, the oddly dull sound of wood splintering, and then darkness.

*

When Riko returned to some semblance of awareness everything felt vaguely numb. She tried to move, but the only effect was a slight tingling where she expected to feel her body. She wasn’t even sure if her eyes were closed or not, there was a smooth darkness churning around her, different colours she couldn’t name trailing along like clouds. A light murmuring, somewhere in the distance, told her she still had ears and Riko tried to focus on it, felt like she was being pulled there, though she could still register no movement, directly.

It was all very odd, but Riko was still very tired, sleepy really, and it was just way too much effort to worry about anything. Being drawn along was just being drawn along, no need to think on it any further. The murmurs slowly turned into a pair of voices, talking quietly, but the rest of her surroundings stayed the same, and so did Riko’s mellowness. It was alright to just hear, no need to think on it, someone else could do that, really. But very slowly, as she listened, the words took on shape and colour and personality.

“Are you absolutely sure.. of course you are, of all the.. and there’s no way to trace..?”

A sigh. Weary. “No, unfortunately not.. we will simply have to carry on being watchful..”

Drily. “Because that worked so well, this time. I just didn’t think..” Bitter, now.

Gentle, calm. “Now, Severus, we were all fooled into thinking we knew more than we actually did, which is ever a thing to keep in mind when dealing with Tom..”

Stubborn, pained. “But I..”

Patient, warm. “Severus, please. I trust you implicitly, and for good reason. I know I can count on you to save even the worst kind of situation, not to mention any endangered student you encounter. Well, I wouldn’t trust you with my biscuits, but you know what I mean..” Humour, dancing.

A sigh again. Weary but less upset. Humour, dry again, but distracted. “Yes, Albus, your insistence that currants go with anything, no matter what, is one of the points we will never agree on..” Changing, tensing again, over buried upset. “If it doesn’t take effect soon, I’ll have to try yet another base. In all seriousness, what were you thinking, practically egging him into that ridiculous parcours! Do you know the words reckless endangerment? Pure luck as it was, and the interruption just about ruined all chances of that silicate-based solution..” Closer now, somehow.

There was again a light tingling running over what was probably supposed to be her body. It felt at the same time pleasantly warm and exhausting. If she’d known how, Riko would’ve liked to fall asleep.

“Hm, yes, you’re right there, of course. But let me have a look.. ah, yes, see?” Inquisitive, then happy. “There you go.. I really think you should take a short break now, Severus. What with our two emergencies I doubt you’ve had any sort of sleep in the last few days, and you want to be awake for the feast, I expect. Here, have a crumpet.. don’t worry, no currants..”

Relief, faint worry, respect, affection, humour. The last two words she heard were such and odd mix of positively mournful and dancing, gentle humour, and layers and layers below, too, it was just too much effort to listen. So that’s what falling asleep was, if Riko’d known it was that easy, she could’ve done that..

*

The next time Riko woke was much less pleasant. Everything hurt, especially her head, and it felt like there was something heavy sitting on her chest, like an invisible troll. Her breathing was disconcertingly shallow and flat, and when she tried to take a deeper breath it hurt even more. Her sight was odd, too, the colours looking much-too-bright one moment then much-too-dark the next, the shadows a steady white-gold.

Even blinking was taxing after the first instinctive opening of her eyes. Alright, she was in the hospital wing, she knew that ceiling, and there was a screen, and there was the foot of her bed.. oh, and there was Madam Pomfrey leaning over her. Odd she hadn’t noticed that earlier, no, the mediwitch had moved, now she did it again, disappearing, reappearing.

“Ms Slyver, can you hear me? I have a potion to make you feel better, so don’t be alarmed now..” Madam Pomfrey sounded a little like she was underwater and held up a vial of oddly-glowing, changing colours in Riko’s line of vision, which was good, because the slightest attempt to move even just her head was both painful and utterly useless.

After the mediwitch had cast a few charms on her and deftly helped her drink the entire vial Riko fell asleep again.

*

The potion had helped, definitely. When Riko opened her eyes again the colours were mostly back to normal and she hardly hurt any more. Well, moving was still unpleasant and took a lot of effort. But there was no one around at the moment, to see how long it took her to struggle into a sitting position, so Riko didn’t mind taking her time.

Somehow it made a big difference to sit against the headboard instead of lying there like an invalid and Riko proudly viewed her dominion. Well, the hospital wing she was currently guest in. Bah, details. It was definitely worth it, even if she now felt completely knackered again. Taking deep breaths helped, and although they wheezed a bit it hardly hurt. That was one great potion..

It was some time afternoon, Riko couldn’t see the clock, and it was really warm. The weather was obviously still great and the gentle breeze occasionally dancing by made Riko long to fall asleep, outside, perhaps by the shallows of the lake. She sighed. Big chance of Madam Pomfrey letting her go, when it was still exhausting just trying to stretch.

Then Professor Snape rounded the corner of the screens, startling her. Riko hadn’t heard him at all. Admittedly, she had been distracted trying to really, properly, stretch without sliding down again, but still. There was a short awkward moment, it seemed he hadn’t expected to be met by an awake person either and been distracted by his own thoughts.

“Ms Slyver,” Professor Snape caught himself first, giving her a pleasant nod in greeting. “It’s good to see you awake already. How are you feeling?”

Well, this was a new situation to be in, regarding her head of house. At least he seemed to be in a relaxed mood, as far as one could ever say that about him. Riko cleared her throat, noticing just how thirsty she was.

“Ah, good, thank you, professor,” she hesitated for a moment before continuing. This was after all a new, odd situation, better to be careful not to offend. “Ano.. could you perhaps tell me the day?”

Riko felt very out of her depth. The last thing she could properly remember was that disgusting Volde-face’s spell crashing first into her shield, then herself. Obviously someone had found her and she’d been treated here, but that was rather vague. There was little point in asking him what had happened, likely he’d be the one to ask her the very same thing, but at least the date would be good to know.

He sat down, relaxedly leaning back in the chair beside the bed. His sleeves were rolled up and his robe open to show a shirt underneath, even in this warm weather, and it made him look oddly young. Not young young but not-old young and alive.

He gave her a short, dry micro-smile, at least five layers deep, and raised an eyebrow, watching her closely as he replied. “Well, you missed the end-of year feast by two days..”

Riko blinked, drawing her brows in confusion. That would mean she’d been out over two weeks! There was no way..

Professor Snape cleared his throat, and was mischief lurking in his eyes? Although his mien was still composed, he seemed to take pity on her confusion. “It’s the tenth, almost a week after your incident. About which I’m sure you understand there are some questions.”

Riko gave him a resigned nod and a weak shrug. “Well, there isn’t much to say, really. I was racing down to the dungeons, to, err, get something, after the History of Magic exam, and I saw Quirrell acting odd and followed him. Turns out he had a sort of ghost-face of Voldemort in the back of his head, which didn’t like being seen, so it attacked me with some spell.”

Now Professor Snape was the one blinking, giving her a very neutral look. Then he raised one inquisitive eyebrow. “You’re being very calm about being attacked, by the ghost of the most feared Dark Wizard of this age no less, and ending up in a coma for almost a week.”

Riko was starting to feel extremely embarrassed, but strove to answered calmly. “Well, you’re not Quirrell and you’re not wearing a turban, so there’s obviously no need to panic. Of course I’d appreciate to have him dealt with somehow, but I don’t see how ranting in bed, at you, would help that, and it’d be sort of exhausting, too, I think.”

“I see,” Professor Snape nodded slowly, then cleared his throat again. “Well, you needn’t worry about Quirrell, or his passenger, but we can talk about that later. There is another matter I’d rather deal with first.”

He was eyeing her in a serious, evaluating manner now and Riko hadn’t, worried about Quirrell that was, but now she did start to worry about what else he might want, warily looking back at him.

“While we have some manoeuvring space, as befits such an institution, when a student is severely injured it is expected for the parents or guardians to be informed. The rule of thumb is that three days in the hospital warrant a letter, though there is of course always the severity of the injury to take into account,” he was watching her very carefully as he talked.

Riko’s thoughts were racing and she was working very hard to keep her face neutral. If she wasn’t so exhausted still she’d slip into quicktime now but the dull, cottony feel behind her eyes ruled that out right away. She’d probably start to puke, which was just no good.

Professor Snape’s voice was as usual calm and controlled, but it still managed to carry a hefty measure of anger. Riko didn’t think it was directed at her, really, but it was damn scary none-the-less. There was short pause, as if he wanted to give her the chance to talk, instead of making this an all-out interrogation. Riko gave a resigned nod and cleared her throat, wetting her lips distractedly.

“Um, I expect you didn’t reach my parents..” She nervously bit her lips. How was she going to get out of that one?

“That is correct, Ms Slyver. The owl returned after a while, obviously confused and unable to deliver.” His cool, precise voice was almost as scary as his intent black eyes, observing her so closely as to rabbit out any secrets she might hide.

Riko eyed her hands and forced them to relax, at least a little, gave weak shrug. “Well, they’re currently not on this plane, or dimension, I think, so it’s not ah.. surprising, that an owl can’t find them..”

Somehow, it was much harder to spin this with Professor Snape watching her than sitting in a café with Lord Malfoy. She gestured weakly in the tense, unimpressed silence radiating from her head of house.

“They’re busy, there, with a project, which is going to take some time still. My uncle Kal Su offered to look after me in the mean time, it’s just, he’s not exactly easy to reach, either..”

Professor Snape was giving her a narrow look. Riko bit her lip again, but looked back. She hadn’t lied, and anyway, what was the point in sending a letter, not like it would change a thing of whatever had happened. He sighed, tiredly, like he did in Potions when someone was being really slow.

“I assume this is an uncle from your mother’s side of the family.”

“Yes,” Riko answered, warily and with some confusion.

Another sigh. “In treating someone who is not quite exactly like a standard human in regards to some potions and charms, a reliable source of information on the subject would be rather helpful, don’t you think,” he said very drily and slowly, as if talking to a simpleton.

“Oh. Err, yes, of course.. ah, I can take a letter along, that’ll probably be the fastest way..” Riko offered, blushing furiously, now very embarrassed. Then, at her head of house’s impatient, slightly doubtful look, she bristled.

“Well, it is! You’d have to find someone to call up a portal, otherwise, and most of them use a solid moon for it, and I sort of doubt you could find someone in the next few days. I don’t even know three, and I couldn’t reach them in that time, either, so I’ll see him before anyone you could get to act as courier.”

Riko crossed her arms, rather miffed he thought she’d do what? Try and let the letter disappear? As if he would stand for that. She wanted to come back here without him being out for her head, thank you very much.

“Of course,” he drawled in a resigned voice. “I should’ve expected that, I suppose.”

He sighed, rather wearily, and gave her a tired, tense, even slightly wary look, only visible around the eyes, and because she knew Vi, really.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any relatives or guardians that might be easier to reach than by a potential monthly portal?” As he finished, he seemed to become aware this sentence could be taken rather badly and cleared his throat. “Ahem, I apologize. However, I’m sure you see what I mean, it is hardly practical..”

Riko took a deep breath, battling herself for a moment. Theoretically she could try and leave it at that. But knowing Professor Snape he already knew it, or he’d find out at some point, and then there’d be hell to pay. But she really didn’t want to..

Heaving a sigh just as resigned as his she nodded then cleared her throat again. How best to put this? “Er, well, I have a spellfather, ah, Lord Malfoy..”

She distractedly pulled some hair behind her right ear, trying to look anywhere but Professor Snape’s face. It didn’t work, so she continued, aware and resigned at how badly she was hiding her embarrassment.

“S’ just, I wouldn’t want to be a bother, y’know. He’d probably be all kinds of happy to take me in, even permanently-like, but then I’d always feel like I owe him, which he likely wouldn’t agree on and it would be all awkward,” she wet her lips again and gestured weakly, her face growing hot. Fuck, what was she doing here, he knew the man, what if..

“’Sides, I get along fine with my uncle, and he’s good enough at looking after me, really, and made sure I learned all sorts of things and, well, it’s not that I dislike Lord Malfoy, he seems entertaining enough, but..” Riko trailed off with a distracted shrug.

“I see,” Professor Snape replied, so dry and warmly sardonic as if he really did. “I’ve met Lucius, we are.. acquaintances, of a sort,” he continued, which was, well, obvious, with him Draco’s spellfather. “In fact, I had the.. pleasure of his company just yesterday, when he enquired about the health of his spellchild.. again.”

Riko hid her face in her hands with a groan. Great. Just fantastic. Well, hardly that surprising, really, Draco was always writing letters home, and her being the hospital wing for days would certainly be considered some sort of news by him. With a sigh she let her hands fall down again and gave Professor Snape a resigned look. Something about it seemed to amuse him greatly, even the corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly, but he composed his face into careful neutrality again.

“Well, it wasn’t that bad,” he drawled and raised his eyebrows, the silent laughter in his black eyes making her face grow hot again. “But I suppose I’ll have to make sure to give you my letter before you leave, then.”

“Yes, professor. I.. ah, thank you.” Riko decided to keep her eyes resolutely on her hands.

“You’re welcome, Ms Slyver.”

There were definite traces of amusement in his voice and she heard him move, making her look up again. He’d waved his wand at her bedside table, summoning a pitcher of water and a goblet. When he’d made sure she could hold the filled cup, he leaned back in the chair again.

“Now, I expect you have some questions as well, but I will first give a short summary of the events, as they are known.”

Riko nodded, quietly sipping the water. It was fresh, pleasantly cool, and in all ways a relief, what with not being required to talk and learning, at last, what she’d missed. Even if he was clearly keeping an eye on her as he talked.

“On the 4th you were delivered to the hospital wing by a group of three desperate students, Ms Drake, Eohyrde and Granger. They could give no information what had happened to you. You were in a very serious condition, Ms Slyver. Even with Madam Pomfrey and me doing our best to stabilize you we were worried you wouldn’t make it.”

There was a short pause, then he asked, as if in passing, “Do you perhaps remember what sort of spell he used?”

“Ah, er, I really couldn’t say.. I, uhm, tried to call up a field of anti-magic, to cancel his magic and get away, he’d blocked the door with it, but I was too slow.. it wasn’t quite finished..” Riko shrugged, embarrassedly focussing on the goblet, adding “..it’s a sort of, ah, circle-based spell, mostly used by clerics, err, at Ma’s place..”

Riko was worried he’d start grilling her on this odd sort of magic or the fact that this, right there, was the closest she’d ever come to really, actually lying to him. She really couldn’t say, if she wanted to have some measure of peace again, ever, but still, it was awfully stretched. But blessedly Professor Snape only nodded, as if dismissing the matter and continued.

“During the night, Madam Pomfrey and I were given yet another emergency, which of course didn’t help. Potter.”

There was again a resigned, aggrieved quality to his voice, and Riko didn’t need to guess the cause. Mostly to distract him from the entire subject, especially Potter, she asked cautiously, “Ahno, you said I missed the end-of-year feast?”

She could ask Amy what Potter had done, later, and she rather preferred Professor Snape in a good mood. However, it seemed to be not much better a subject.

He sighed and continued drily. “Yes, indeed. In one of the headmaster’s outbreaks of whimsy,” he made it sound it like a disease and Riko hid her smile behind her cup, “the feast was set to be on the day Potter was let loose again, namely the 8th.”

Alright, that was an odd way of saying it but it explained why it didn’t improve his mood. Anything to do with Potter stood a bad chance at that.

“The special highlight of the feast was the spontaneous revelation,” the way he said the word bordered on distaste, “that Gryffindor miraculously won the house cup.”

At that, Riko blinked. “What?! But.. ah, I mean.. how?”

Even after all the chaos of the prank war, the overall ratio of the house point had hardly changed. What could have suddenly happened to let them gain that many points? It was, mostly, very odd, and also annoying, really. Riko would’ve liked to see the hall decked out in green and silver. Of course, she hadn’t been there anyway, but still.. spontaneously, huh..

“The headmaster felt certain circumstances made it necessary to award house Gryffindor last-minute a rather surprising amount of points,” Professor Snape said, very neutrally indeed, then continued after a short sigh. “As I mentioned, you needn’t worry about Quirrell any more. He died, the night Potter was delivered here.”

When she only continued to look at him questioningly, his face settled back into his neutral mask, his voice tense. “There was a confrontation between the two, engineered by the spirit he had served. He drew the boy in a trap, though it seems his main goal was..”

“The philosophers stone!” Riko burst out involuntarily at his pause.

At the same moment Professor Snape said “something else”.

And now, as he looked at her, perplexed and wary, micro-expressions would not be the right word to use. Nano-expressions, maybe, not quite his mask of complete-unreadable, but close. Shifty ground.

“Ah, is it alright, then? Err, the stone?” Riko asked, carefully, in what she hoped was a sufficiently innocent, curious voice. If they’d found out.. well, there was no way to prove anything now, but still..

“..it was destroyed. Apparently their struggle started a highly exothermic chain-reaction, effectively letting it burn up. According to the headmaster’s description it went up in smoke just as he reached the scene.” His voice was almost absent-minded, factual, and he was eyeing her very closely now, why was that? Had she said anything odd? What?

“Oh..” Riko cleared her throat, nervously. Perhaps it was better not to say anything. But to not ask any questions would be just as odd! The safest seemed, “So, err, how’s this mean Gryffindor wins the house cup?”

She was very glad for the goblet in her fingers, otherwise her hands’d surely be shaking with nerves. His raised eyebrow accused and tolerantly judged her of trying to change the subject but he answered. In his usual unreadable tone and leaning back further in his chair. And he didn’t stop watching her like a hawk.

“It seems a number of students have over the course of the year found out just what was hidden behind the closed of corridor in the third floor, namely the famous philosophers stone.”

Riko nodded, a little surprised he would start so far back to answer a simple question, but better he was telling a story than try and grill her. Her nerves just couldn’t take it right now.

“They had, somehow, also deduced a teacher was after it, and probably also somehow involved with said Dark Wizard, though the details are sketchy there,” he continued drily.

Well, that seemed, mostly, a correct summary of the entire situation. Oh. Oh no. Now wait just a second..

“So, four of those students, knowing said teacher would soon make his move, decided to prevent the immediate catastrophe that would surely follow such an event, by going in and liberating the endangered treasure.” His voice was dripping sarcasm as he pronounced the words.

Riko froze, unable to even breath. She couldn’t even twitch an eyelid. There was no way! That.. it was inconceivable, absolutely, totally, and in all other ways, inconceivable and.. that, that made her blink. Thinking like a Sicilian? No, that wasn’t the way to go.

Tense like a bowstring, Riko took a deep sip from the cup to hide her expression, her eyes glued to Professor Snape’s face. Perhaps he’d just think she was simply very ah, fascinated by his err..tale. He had definitely noticed _some_ thing about her, well, he _was_ Professor Snape, but he continued, in much but definitely not exactly the same tone, all the while eyeing her thoughtfully.

“The headmaster felt this bravery deserved some reward, especially given the various injuries they had sustained.”

Realization crashed into Riko in a flash, made her instinctively draw a sharp breath. It was too bad this resulted in a healthy, or rather unhealthy, amount of water flooding her airways. Coughing and spluttering she curled inwards, losing her hold on the cup. The relief she felt was at least as painful as the racking coughs, the retreating tension leaving her trembling.

Of course! It happened _after_ the attack on her, and _Gryffindor_ had won the points! Potter! That sodding Potter had gone down there, with three housemates, not knowing he didn’t have to, and nearly got them all killed in the process! There was a short tingling in her nose travelling on to her lungs and then Professor Snape’s cool, calm hands were on her back and on her forearm, carefully helping her sit up.

He was eyeing her with apparent worry and she forced herself to nod feebly. “M a’right.. alright, see, breathin’ fine,” Riko took a deep, ragged breath, to demonstrate, her fingers twisting the thin, wet blanket. Better than to let them sit there, trembling. Her thoughts raced and stumbled over each other as she tried to process everything.

Potter’s friends, which meant Amy, had been injured. Damn that insane Potter to all the nether regions! They could’ve all gotten killed! And for nothing! If he’d gotten Amy hurt, she’d bash his head in! She could dissolve the corpse, no one would ever know!

“That.. aho.. nutter! Kusotare! Schal-tnekhou, damned, idiotic.. Nandemonai yo, bloody feckin’ pointless.. rien du fucking tout.. strangle him.. Bakayaro!”

Riko realized, just a little too late, she was sputtering again, and without any water in her nose to explain it away. She coughed again, which didn’t even need faking, but Professor Snape was not distracted. Instead he sat back in his chair, looking at her sharply, a look of understanding creeping over his face. Oh, no. No. Nononono.

Riko actually felt the blood drain from her face. Why, by all the gods and Loki in particular, was her head-of-house so damn smart? Why was _she_ such a complete idiot with a temper? She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. There was no proof, no way of proving anything, and she’d never tell, ever. Just stay calm now. Her heart was racing, but her hands stilled, mission set.

When Riko opened her eyes, she’d let her face retreat into blank neutrality, though her entire body was trembling with tension. He’d get absolutely nothing out of her. Even if he’d helped save her life, it was completely none of his business. Later, looking back on it, Riko had to admit to herself it had been all but a confession. But really, what else could she have done in the situation? Keep on panicking? Her nerves had been shot to shreds already, that was the real problem. Clearly, she needed to work on that, and on her temper, too, but that good resolution was worth nothing in that specific situation. And anyway, none of it could’ve prepared her for what happened next.

Professor Snape blinked at her new expression, arranging his face probably on instinct into the same, neutral mien. For a few very silent moments, that felt like aeons to Riko, they looked at each other. Riko could feel her pulse racing and concentrated on ignoring the light spots that started to dance in her field of vision. His face twitched. Riko eyed him warily. Now what?

Then, Professor Snape laughed. Well, really, the laughter all but burst out of him, making him lean back, almost literally laughing his head off. Then he had to breathe, so he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, laughter bubbling out of him like water from a stone. He was actually tearing up with all the laughter. And it wasn’t hysterical either, because Riko knew laughter. This was a smooth baritone, delivering a deep-sounding, uncontrolled sort of belly-laughter, wholly unselfconscious, distracted from the world by pure entertainment. Occasionally it strayed into giggling fits of hilarity when he had to take a breath again. It was, somehow, the oddest thing she had experienced all year.

Riko drew up her knees to lean on them, just watching the spectacle. Her head felt empty, it was all she could do to just take it in. It had to be a few minutes at least until he managed to calm down, drying tears from the corners of his eyes. Riko had given up on her mask, just too exhausting right now, and instead eyed him, cautious but mostly relaxed. If he wanted to turn her in then he probably wouldn’t sit here laughing. At last he cleared his throat, then conjured up another goblet and filled it with water, drinking deeply. After he’d sat it down, he looked rather calm, giving her a deeply amused look.

“Too bad, now that it’s destroyed no one could ever prove if it really was the philosophers stone that went up in smoke, there..” He raised his eyebrow, drawling with a lazy smirk. “But then, it _was_ rather unlikely for it to be _replaced_. Some might even go so far as to call it inconceivable, but that’s rather asking for trouble, I always thought. Very few seem to know what it really means.”

Even having accepted the bizarreness of the situation, Riko couldn’t stop herself from gaping at him, wholly incredulous. So he really did know..

However, her head of house just leaned back again, completely relaxed, and shot her a look of truly demonic amusement. “After everything was settled down the headmaster told me the angle he used to guard it,” he said, scuffing some imaginary lint off his robe, and raised an eyebrow. Riko wanted, suddenly and very badly, to know what his snake had been.

“It was a pretty good idea, all considered,” he continued, and, even more off-hand, “I wonder what any theoretical finder of such a stone, after getting past that particular angle, would do with it afterwards..”

Well, he obviously wasn’t going to turn her in. And he knew the trick.. Riko bit her lip. She couldn’t break her oath, of course, but he already knew, didn’t he..

She cleared her throat and looked straight at the screen behind him, feeling her face heat. “Ah, well, I suppose any decent finder, if such a person knew who the rightful owner is, they’d send it to them.”

For a second there it looked like he would start laughing again. Riko actually had to bite her tongue as her usually so composed head-of-house fought his laughter with a short, rather suspicious-sounding cough. He still looked amused afterwards, too, which added to the surreality of it all.

“I see,” he said, very evenly, after he’d sufficiently cleared his throat, “Well, seeing how the stone was destroyed already, I suppose there’s no harm in telling an innocent student..”

Riko leaned forward eagerly.

“Severus, there you are! I thought I heard.. Oh!”

Argh! Did Madam Pomfrey have to show up _now_ , of all times?! It was almost comical, absolutely nobody was pleased with the imminent situation. Riko for obvious reasons, Madam Pomfrey was hurriedly clearing her throat and adding a rather more reserved sounding “Professor.” and Professor Snape was sitting much straighter, suddenly, and then rose courteously to give her a respectful nod and “Madam Pomfrey“.

“Well then, how are you feeling, Ms Slyver?” Riko managed a weak sort of smile at the resolute inquiry. When in doubt, care for a student. Madam Pomfrey was really one-of-a-kind.

“Pretty good, thank you, Madam Pomfrey..” Riko’s automatic reassurance trailed off when Madam Pomfrey tsk-ed, noticing the spilled water on the blanket, and charmed it dry in a moment.

Then she started in on Riko, mumbling what had to be all sorts of diagnostic charms and looking alternately pleased and worried with the results. Luckily the mediwitch then quickly hurried off again, giving Professor Snape a distracted nod and mumbling to herself about restorative potions. Riko looked, a little blankly, after her, then at her head of house, receiving a similar, if more amused look in return.

He gave her a small nod, tar-black mischief dancing in his eyes. “I think I’d better leave you to be tended by our esteemed healer then..”

The barely visible grin at her dropped jaw, less than a second’s flash of teeth, reminded her oddly enough and despite the tea-stained colour of Vi. He was, however, merciful enough to not just leave like that, which just proved.. ah.. his capability.. as head-of-house. Clearly.

“Ah, yes, something the headmaster said.. How did he put it..” he smirked as he started the quote, “ _Only someone who wanted to find the stone, but not use it would be able to get it._ He thought it was quite brilliant, himself.”

He had to clear his throat again, at length, lightening Riko’s already giddy mood considerably in the process. Then they could hear Madam Pomfrey approaching again and it was the usual Professor Snape who gave her another nod.

“Now, Ms Slyver, you will heed Madam Pomfrey’s orders, to guarantee a speedy recovery. I will get back to you with the letter and expect a diligent delivery. Good day.”

Giving Madam Pomfrey his customary, courteous nod he left with a perceptible spring in his step. It had the mediwitch look after him in confusion for a moment, but she did have Riko to fill with potions and ask about any sort of symptoms she might still feel and cast medical charms on.


	22. Friends in Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not quite an epilogue, but really just a taking care of as-yet untidied strings. End of year means lots of things, but most of all a return to the world outside the castle, a world in which all sorts of things may be moving along =)

When her patient cautiously cleared her throat, Madam Pomfrey looked neither surprised nor pleased. She did, however, look vaguely tolerant when Riko asked if she might receive visitors. Of course the mediwitch very strictly insisted Riko needed rest but it was just for show, Riko thought, or perhaps to judge if the patient was well enough to argue.

Riko didn’t disappoint in that regard although she was starting to feel a little tired. She could manage a few minutes for her friends, seriously! With a put-upon sigh Madam Pomfrey gave her a short smile and agreed. “Very well, then. But only a few minutes!”

Apparently Riko’s friends had been waiting in front of the door, which made her feel very warm, setting her to grin madly at them as they hurried over to her with a loud “Riko!”. They buried her in a great, many-limbed hug, which was obviously one more reason sitting was much better than lying in a hospital bed. Riko was just opening her mouth, but Vi was faster, holding up a hand and shooting her a mock-severe look.

“Nu-uh! You first! How did you manage to almost end up a tragic historical footnote, just after finishing the damn exam? Oh, and I got your fangs, so you needn’t worry ’bout a thing ’xept telling us..”

They’d all piled on her bed, careful of her still-weak limbs, and Edie leaned over from the side. “Honestly, Riko! We were so worried, they said you might..”

Amy was very silent, looking over her with big, pained and worried eyes and biting her lips. Riko took a deep breath, relaxing, and shot them all a big, happy smile.

“Alright then, it’s not very impressive, I told Professor Snape already, just now. I was racing down to the kitchen, when I saw Quirrell being odd. Well, more odd. Turns out he had the ghost of Voldemort in the back of his head and it didn’t like being found out..” She gave an embarrassed shrug at their gasps of shock, and quickly used their distraction to her advantage.

“So, Professor Snape said you found me and brought me here. Last thing I recall is some mean curse flying at me. What happened?”

They all stared incredulously for a moment, then Vi was, as usual, the first to gather her wits. “What happened?! You were suddenly gone, and we thought we were on your trail, running down to the kitchen, almost there really, and then we heard an awful crash from somewhere..”

“It sounded really horrible, and I felt like I had to sneeze or something, made me shudder something awful, and so I had a really bad feeling and we raced to where it’d come from, but the door wouldn’t open, not even with Amy’s unlocking charms..” Edie gave their Gryffindor friend a worried look, when she only sat there, silently, looking miserable. “Oh, Amy, no.. I didn’t mean..”

Riko gave Edie a gentle, calming nudge with a toe that still felt like it was falling asleep. “Course you didn’t! Amy, I’m so sorry! I should’ve known Potter would go nuts sooner or later and made it so you could tell him and stop him! Did you get hurt bad? We’ll never do that again, stupid, damn oath. Are you alright?”

Amy wildly shook her head, her hair flying crazily about, which wasn’t very reassuring, especially with the way she was desperately biting her lips. After a deep breath it all burst out of her.

“S’ alright, Riko! Honest! I’m fine, I’ll be fine, I wasn’t even hurt. It was just so awful! First, we couldn’t get in at all, Edie and Vi blasted the door to bits then, and you looked all.. broken, lying under those desks and all.. and there was nobody else in the room..” Riko’s brave Gryffindor friend miserably hugged herself, but then doggedly continued. “We thought you were going to.. and we couldn’t do a thing, after we’d got you to Madam Pomfrey.. We tried to find clues or traces, down there, but Filch was.. and then Harry.. he was so sure! I mean, he only had one part wrong, ’bout Professor Snape, and his reasoning was off, but I couldn’t say a thing about it, to stop him. Not a thing! I tried to make sure they wouldn’t get hurt, but..”

“Oh no, Amy!” Riko felt for her friend, badly. To be unable to stop her friends going to their doom, then try to help them and end up the one being fine while her friends were hurt! Impulsively she leaned over to hug her, a bit more quickly than intended, almost making them keel out.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she repeated, holding on tight.

With tolerant sighs Edie and Vi heaved them back up. Amy was relaxing a little, so Riko let her go but kept one arm around her friends shoulder.

“So, what happened then? You did manage to keep them alive, which is a damn feat if you ask me, and you won the house cup, too! Go Gryffindor bravery and all, Professor Snape told me already. Showed everyone, didn’t you?”

Riko’s relaxed attitude about it seemed to calm Amy further, even drawing a weak smile.

“Yeah, that one was a real surprise, let me tell you. Well, Fluffy was no problem, but then they just jumped down the hatch, without even saying something first! The trap door was already open, see, and of course they landed in the Devils Snare! Neville caught on fast enough, though, without him we’d never have managed to get Harry and Ron loose without any bigger trouble..”

From their incredulous looks Amy hadn’t yet told all this to the other two yet and she gave a weak shrug, hurriedly continuing. “Then, in Professor Flitwick’s room, the brooms were visible again, so we were herding the key, to help Harry catch it. Neville made a good move, to shoo it, but he broke his leg against the wall. Looked awful, and he said we had to go on, and they all agreed..”

Amy was wringing her hands, clearly reliving the bad experience, then bit her lip and continued with bitter frustration in her voice. “I couldn’t even do a decent Levatio for the pain, ’cause I couldn’t stay in range for the duration, not like I could let them go off on their own! And then Ron nearly got his head bashed in by Professor McGonagall’s chess! He’s just as crazy as you Riko! It was sheer luck his head is so thick!”

She looked livid at what had certainly been scary at the time and Riko had to bite her tongue to not laugh at her friends probably unintentional dig against Potter’s Weasley, better to let her get it out of her system, really.

“The troll was already out cold, smelled just awful, just like Hallowe’en, but it was real lucky, otherwise we’d ’ve been killed for sure,” Amy shook her head, “And then it all went to hell at Professor Snape’s room! We couldn’t stay there, after all, and I couldn’t say which one lets you go back without Harry asking which lets you go through, so I said we both go. And he agreed. And then he took the bottle along through the fire! That bloody.. damn.. stupid.. I could’ve..”

Riko stared in, well, admiration, really, at her friend’s sputtering. It was all but impossible to make Amy lose coherency, she was a bit like Professor Snape that way, but trust Potter to manage it. Riko was forced to admit to herself she was of two minds about the matter.

On the one hand was the fact Potter had made her friend miserable, which meant she had to kill or at least maim him. On the other he’d tried to make sure she wouldn’t be harmed. And, to be fair, at least inside her head, if he’d let Amy come along and get hurt Riko’d feel obliged to kill him, too. There was no way to win, which might actually mean she shouldn’t kill him, after all. Damn.

Amy luckily distracted her by regaining some composure, giving them a slightly embarrassed smile. “I was so mad, honestly, I don’t think I was ever that mad at anyone, ever. Anyway, at that point I was ready to get just about anyone, no matter who, for help. So I raced back..” She was wringing her hands again, clearly reliving the situation. “I had to move Ron to Neville, because he wouldn’t wake up, and I said to be real quiet and hid them, and took a broom, and I’d just got up to Fluffy when the headmaster showed up! He was supposed to be in London, but he just said ‘Harry’s gone after him, hasn’t he?’ and jumped down himself!”

They all gave her an incredulous look, but she just looked back and nodded. “He’s mad. Obviously. I mean, of course he knew what was down there and how to handle a Devils Snare, but..” They all nodded. The headmaster was obviously not only a very powerful and crafty wizard, he was also completely barking mad.

“And then..?” Riko asked. She wanted details, even if she thought she could make a pretty good guess from then on.

“Well, I went down again, with the broom, and back to Ron and Neville and tried to help them. Dumbledore’d just raced in and grabbed a broom and flown on, and, well, if he couldn’t help Harry, then.. We’d just got Ron up, when he came back, and he was carrying Harry, and it looked so bad..”

Amy trailed off for a moment, and Riko gave her another half-hug. Her friend leaned against her, wringing her hands again. “He only asked if we could make it to the infirmary and then he flew ahead.. it took us a while.. and then we saw that Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey had still been there, working on you, and I was so wretched, if only I could’ve.. but then I had to leave.”

At the last word, Amy almost lost her composure again, drawing into herself. Both Vi and Edie scooted over, and they all just sat there for a moment, then Vi brought the mood up again. “Yeah, of course they hadn’t accounted for Amy’s own stubbornness. She was still there in the morning. She did fall asleep though, sitting there..”

Even Amy had to smile a little at Vi’s dry, yet impressed tone. Riko could just imagine it, Amy staying there with determination written all over her face.

“Well, I had company, after that night, so that was quite alright..” Amy actually joked back, with a grateful smile at Edie and Vi.

Riko felt her mouth fall open, not knowing what to say. They’d kept watch out there? All that time..?

Edie nudged her from the side, lightly. “It wasn’t a big deal, really. There wasn’t much else to do, anyway, and we couldn’t leave Amy there with just Weasley for company and Longbottom. Turns out none of them are any good at Schafkopfen, so that was quite fun..”

“Yeah, and after Archer, that prefect of yours, came by and saw Fina and her goons trying to pester us, all we had to do was occasionally hide from some teacher or other. That girl has some temper, Riko, it was hilarious!” Vi’s eyes shone with amusement.

“It was really nice,” Edie agreed, sounding very proper despite the way her eyes crinkled with mirth. “’Specially ’cause the Duck Squad thought they could just try it again a little later, which is when they ran into Montague who was ‘just passing through’. Real nice how afterwards every so often some prefect of yours had to pass by the hospital wing, Riko.”

Riko ducked her head a little while the others grinned. “Yeah, gave Ron a right turn each time one of those sinister Slytherin prefects walked by, giving us a nod. Didn’t help his card-playing any..” Amy smiled innocently, mischief dancing her eyes.

Vi snorted at that, but then quickly cleared her throat. “Oh, Riko, that reminds me, I got something to talk about later, when we got some more time, outside.”

“Yeah, ’f course.. why not now, though?” Riko asked, confused.

Her friend rolled her eyes in exasperation as she replied none too subtle. “’Cause you look about ready to pass out against Amy, and that’d be real rude, y’know..”

Riko opened her mouth to deny any such thing, but instead a giant yawn almost split her jaw. She had just enough time for a slightly embarrassed cough, then Madam Pomfrey was there, as if conjured up by the sign of exhaustion in her patient, like some sort of healer-daemon.

“Now, that was definitely more than just a few minutes.. out, and I mean really out, outside, get some fresh air! You can visit again tomorrow!”

There was no arguing with the mediwitch, not that any of them were inclined to, anyway. Riko was actually glad to lie down again, after drinking another two potions, one of which she was sure she’d brewed up herself just weeks ago. She had no trouble falling asleep.

*

When she woke the next day and after a late, big breakfast, Riko wasn’t as sanguine about having to stay in bed. Today the results of the exams would come out, and the weather was great, and she wanted to go to the lake and couldn’t Madam Pomfrey see she was feeling just fine? After a very thorough check-up, the mediwitch threw her hands up.

“Yes, fine, very well, already! Ms Slyver, it’s obvious you’re doing much better, but you’re still on the mend. I expect you to show up here every evening and morning until I say otherwise, to let me keep an eye on your recovery. Am I making myself clear?”

Riko would’ve agreed to just about anything just to get out of having to stay in the hospital bed. Not that it stopped Madam Pomfrey from giving the same instructions, with additional insistence on making sure she not overexert herself, to her friends. As if she couldn’t look after herself, seriously. Then, at long last, Riko was let loose again. A set of her own fresh clothes had been lying by her bed this morning and it felt great to be properly clothed. The content of her pockets had been transferred, too, so that was yet another thing to set her at ease, and after they ducked into an empty room Riko also had her fangs back. She felt whole again, at last, not to mention incredibly grateful Vi was such a calm head in a crisis as to think of her fangs.

The results had been hung up, so they looked there first. Amy had, of course, come top of the year and Riko and the others had passed with varyingly good marks, too. Next, they visited the kitchens, where Riko asked the elves to pass her thanks to whoever had prepared her clothes. Then, hidden under an Obscurantis and laden with a basket of sandwiches and iced tea, they made their way to the lake. 

Amy had a copy of the Prophet along, that she immediately thrust at Riko when they’d found a good place and settled down. “It’s Monday’s, in the ad-section again..” was her only comment, while Edie and Vi were already fishing in the basket. Riko leaned back in the warm grass, enjoying the pleasantly warm breeze and scanned.. ah, there!

_Warm regards and a fond farewell to the Untouchables. After hearing from an old friend, we’ve decided it’s really better that way, by midsummer. We’ve been meaning to travel a bit for quite a while now, so we’ll put our affairs into order and move on. Enough places to get lost in, and neither is that hard to do, again._

Looking up, she grinned. “Well, that was real thoughtful of them, to keep us informed like that. I really would’ve loved being a fly on the wall in that talk between the headmaster and Flamel..”

They all snickered at the idea. “Honestly, you know what he told Harry? ‘To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.’ Sounds like he actually doesn’t know. And what a thing to say..” Amy shook her head, awed by the strangeness that was their headmaster.

Riko leaned her head to the side, thinking on it, then gave a shrug. “Well, I guess he’s right, sort of. I mean, in Ma’s family all but a few got offed at least once. Didn’t keep any of them down, just occupied for a while, y’know, till they found back.”

They all stared her like they weren’t sure if she was pulling their leg. “I’m serious. It’s all to do with being prepared and having enough power and sense of self and stuff.”

“That sounds real weird, no offence, Riko. Being dead’s not like being lost, now is it,” Edie said rather than asked.

“It’s about that Hintergrundstrom and planes in dimensions and stuff, isn’t it?” Vi interjected with some visible scepticism.

“Yeah, that stuff, and of course having enough will, y’know..” Riko grinned, then answered her friend’s questioning looks. “Means, from what I know, depending on the person, death can actually be not much more of an inconvenience than being thrown someplace and having to find the way back. But it’s sort of unwieldy to talk about, and Vi, you said you had something..?”

The subject was a little too close to things Riko really didn’t feel like discussing just now, so she was glad for the excuse. Her friends seemed to accept it easily enough as just another part of her sometimes-odd world-view.

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to say.. Do you have a good solicitor? ’cause you might be needing one.. Fina made a few stupid remarks.. with your name, and.. I think my family’s gonna trigger some.. pre-emptive defence or..” Vi gave an uncomfortable shrug.

The whole thing came complete out of the left field for her, but Riko strove to remain calm. “What sort of trouble do you think I should expect? I don’t have one, right now. I was hoping to stay under the radar of anyone interested in asking detailed questions...”

“Well, they haven’t got anything to directly accuse anyone in your family as it is, so they’ll probably send some Ministry-people poking into your affairs, y’know, sort of a warning to not make any trouble in what’s now their turf..” Vi was looking immensely annoyed at the situation.

“What do you mean, send Ministry-people after her? Riko hasn’t done anything, well, that they know of, and anyway, the Ministry’s not going to be on the beck and call of a band of.. well, mobsters, sorry Vi.”

Amy was immediately up in arms, of course, though she was throwing an apologetic look at Vi. Edie looked startled, and worried, perhaps having a better idea of the situation, or maybe at Amy’s rash mention of mobsters. Vi had never really brought up anything of the sort in their group, but she didn’t look surprised, which, huh.

Vi shot Amy a look of resigned amusement, only a little bitter but clearly not hurt or dismayed. “Sheesh, Amy, really. Y’said it right, mobsters. We’re not as big as the Slyvers were, but we got some pull and contacts in law-enforcement and the related courts. Pecunia non olet and all that..”

At Amy’s furrowed brows, Riko quickly said, “Money doesn’t stink. And, yeah, it’s not all that surprising. I expect it’ll be some enquiry about what happened to the Slyvers, that sort of thing?” She was worriedly biting her lip, now. This wasn’t good at all.

“Yeah, probably,” huffed Vi with a grimace. “Well, I can recommend you one, if you like. She’s real good and doesn’t have any ties to the family. They just employ her via others when they want someone who’s considered clean and the case doesn’t have any known ties to us. For some odd reason she’s got something against them..”

Riko and Vi shared a short grin, then Riko nodded, still feeling worry niggling in the back of her head but determined to scout out all her options first. She still had some time, after all. They spent the rest of the day relaxing, which was good because Riko tired easily just doing such strenuous things as walking or reading or playing cards.

After letting Madam Pomfrey examine her thoroughly again after dinner and receiving another potion to drink before going to sleep in her own bed, Riko tracked down every single one of her prefects to thank them for looking after her friends. She was completely exhausted afterwards and crawled directly into bed to avoid Tony or Draco asking what had happened, at least until tomorrow.

Riko slept badly, waking in the middle of the night with a strangled gasp but unable to remember the dream that had left her shaking. It did, however, remind her to send Korra off with a short proposal of employment to one Lakshmi Cicero, from the law firm Barak & Cicero.

This lead to a flurry of exchanged letters. The situation, as far as Riko felt she could tell, and the resulting corner demands in case of any enquiry had to be set down, the rate of payment approved, a letter sent to Fhuuzhako.. It kept Riko busy planning and worrying, as did the fact she still tired much too quickly. And then there was the other stuff.

For one, there was of course no escape from Tony or really her house in general. Yes, the story of how Potter had thwarted what might or might-not be the most feared Dark Wizard of his time was all over the school, and he’d won the house-cup for it, and it was all very shiny and Gryffindor and no Slytherin would ever just believe that flat front. And even if they did, or at least pretended to, they still had questions of why and when and where and how Riko, officially a serpent if still a nameless one, had been attacked just hours previous to whatever Potter had got up to, and what the obvious connection was and so on and so forth. Personally, Riko was still wondering how she’d escaped those same questions being asked by the headmaster.

He seemed to be taking this Voldemort thing rather serious and he’d certainly asked Potter lots while he was still in the hospital wing, from what Amy had said. Yes, Professor Snape had already questioned her, sort of, but still. Did the headmaster really leave anything regarding Slytherin to him, not even going anywhere near their house himself?

Not that Riko minded, she was insanely glad to not have to interact with the wizard who was by all accounts feared even by Voldemort, could see through her Obscurantis, and was also officially mad. It was just odd, wasn’t it, and not necessarily the good sort. Not to mention whatever sort of game he’d been playing in regards the stone and Quirrell. But glad as she was of getting out of it and whatever conclusions regarding the headmaster’s famed favouritism for his former, red-gold house it might lead to (after all, what had getting tangled with Voldemort to do with the house cup?) she was not going to get out of this, ironically more honest, scrutiny. She did, however, have less to worry about.

Questions from her housemates she could handle, and the good thing was that Tony was so curious she definitely wanted to know first. As soon as Riko woke up next morning, in fact. And once she’d thoroughly poked and prodded and asked, the horned rattlesnake – crotalus cerastes – Cera for short and still enormously proud to have got her name during the pranking war, was then so chuffed to be in the know that she could be trusted to handle most all questions anyone else might have. It was a very good deal, Riko thought.

It left her free to handle the much-increased scrutiny of about half the school. That made it harder to get away with using Obscurantis but it also meant the Duck-Squad couldn’t attack them without being well-wittnessed harassing ickle firsties. The rest of the Defence-lessons of the year was cancelled, but then, none of the teachers really did much actual teaching after-exams anyway. They managed to visit Hagrid on Saturday, which was very nice.

But there was still the matter with Potter. Or rather Quirrell. Riko had to admit that as she didn’t want to bother Amy about it, after that mess with the oath and all, or give the impression of using her as a means to get info on Potter, he was definitely the person to ask about what exactly had happened to Quirrell and, more importantly, to his head-passenger. So she forced herself to buckle up and get it over with and headed him off after a morning visit to Madam Pomfrey, just as he was leaving the Great Hall after breakfast. Yes, perhaps she had timed it very carefully and waited a bit, obscured. No need for a spectacle, really. Of course he had his Weasley along, but Riko was alone and only nodded politely at the ginger before focussing on the boy-who-lived-despite-his-insanity.

“Good day, Potter. Please excuse the directness, but I have a question about the.. matter with the stone.”

He looked mostly surprised, quickly changing to defensive, so she hastily continued before he could open his mouth and start some sort of argument. “Thing is, do you know if Quirrell’s, well, passenger is dead, too?”

At that, Potter only looked startled. Riko gave a sigh, trying to keep her impatience at bay, did _not_ roll her eyes, and made sure to use very clear, small, easy-to-understand language that even such a mane-brain might understand.

“Look, the tosser tried to do me in. So, could you please tell me if that damn Volde-face bought it too? Oh, and good one for Quirrell, he was a right nutter.”

The way he was now studying her, scrutinizing her with his uncanny bright green eyes, made Riko uneasy, especially because his expression seemed actually.. thoughtful. It looked odd and out-of-place on him, somehow. A few moments passed in silence and Riko crossed her arms but tried to otherwise keep her stance moderately peaceful, eyeing him warily.

At length, he shook his head. “No, he escaped,” he said, then nodded at her and walked off. Which, well, was at least civil, sort of. With a short sigh and somewhat disappointed, if not exactly surprised, Riko got on with her own day.

They had Edie to take care of during the last full moon of the school year after all, and afterwards Riko told them about Snape finding out. She hadn’t wanted Edie to be worried before the transformation, and promptly got yelled at for it, by Amy, and looked at sadly, by Edie and just looked at, by Vi. Which was all as expected and thus alright. Then, after letting herself get trounced at cards and escaping two-and-a-half ambushes from the Duck Squad, generally ignoring lessons and relaxing over the last few sun-filled days, suddenly their wardrobes were empty, their trunks packed, notes were handed out to all students, warning them to not use magic over the holidays, and Riko had to find a good place to store Professor Snape’s very thick letter to her uncle.

After her last morning-checkup Riko was only just in time for Hagrid, who took the first years down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake, then they were boarding the Hogwarts express, talking and laughing as the country-side became greener and tidier, gently teasing Amy, as she alternated between their compartment and Potter and Weasley’s.

Riko was tense with nerves, but kept distracting herself. Vi had helped her come up with a great fall-back, and anyway, perhaps she wouldn’t need even need Mrs. Cicero’s services today, if the Ministry wasn’t really as corrupt as all that. It was better, in any case, to play cards and talk about who could visit whom, when, and how over the holidays, munching Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans as they sped past Muggle towns and the occasional train passing them by. She was indescribably envious of Edie; Lea was going to start her Tithe-year on the seventh of July, from the portal in France, and her family was going to be invited to the festivities on the day beforehand. Remembering the exuberant party of the midsummer two years ago, Riko wished she didn’t have to meet her uncle on the same damn day that Lea was leaving.

Then they were pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King’s Cross Station, everyone and their pets pouring out of the train, running around this or that way, lugging their trunks into and out of people’s way, trying to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. Riko had hoped to slink away inconspicuously in the chaos, but instead of general mingling, like during winter break, there was now a wizened old guard up by the ticket barrier, only letting people off in twos or threes to keep the muggles from noticing anything odd.

There was also a very noticeable pair of Aurors already standing on the platform, looking about curiously until their eyes lit on Riko. After she’d seen the situation she’d thrown back her hood and resigned herself to option A being blown. Now, perhaps she could keep it in option B if she acted all cooperative..?

Riko nodded a quick farewell to her friends, to keep them out of it, and moved in the general direction of the odd pair. One was very tall, a bald, black-skinned wizard with a single gold hooped earring, the other was a witch looking not a day older than Lea with short, aggressively pink hair. Stopping in the cover of a bunch of upper year Ravenclaws arguing obscure theories she opened her rucksack on her trunk, fiddling around with the content and waiting for them. She didn’t care to have any overly nosy busybodies get too much of the scene, honestly.

She checked the letter on Korra’s leg was still obscured and absently scratched her between the wings, longing, only for a moment, for that time, a year ago, when she didn’t have to worry about such elaborate problems. But it was only a short moment, as Amy chose right then to wave her a short goodbye before going through the barrier. Then the pair had reached her and Riko stepped away form the upper years to avoid overhearing.

“Ms Slyver? I’m Auror Shacklebolt. If we could have a few minutes of your time. Are you set to meet your parents outside?” He’d sketched her a polite bow and his deep, slow voice was oddly calming. Or perhaps that was just her mission mode kicking in.

Riko raised her head and gave him an easy smile and polite nod. “Good day, Auror Shacklebolt. I’m afraid you’re out of luck with regards to my parents, but I am of course at your service, if it won’t take too long. I’ve yet a ways to go, today.”

“Hummm,” he raised an eyebrow at her reply, but only nodded politely, introducing his partner in the same calm tone. “This is Trainee Tonks. If you don’t object, it would be good to take you into the office, to settle any potential questions.”

Riko had expected something of the sort, and it still pretty much made her skin crawl to be all but apprehended like that, but she appreciated the polite manners of the man. He didn’t strike her as if he was getting paid to do this here or anything but resigned to it. The two were after all Aurors, not general Magical Law Enforcement. Meant making trouble was double out, but it was also odd, she’d have to ask Vi on it, when she saw her again.

“Certainly,” she gave a short, resigned nod. “If you don’t mind I’ll let my bird stretch her wings in the mean time. She’s been cooped up all day and I wouldn’t want her to get cranky inside an unfamiliar building.”

He shot a short look at Korra, but nodded. Riko quickly gave Korra another pat before sending her off with a short “Alright now, be careful and don’t forget to wait..”

Korra’s reply was a slightly put-upon caw, and Riko turned to the two, well, one-and-half, Aurors with a friendly shrug and a glib lie. “She tried to fly ahead, once, that was a bit of a bother...”

“I see,” was the Auror’s neutral reply, before he informed her they would be Apparating her side-long, something Trainee Tonks had to practice. Apparating turned out to be a sort of teleportation and Riko agreed to his assessment regarding Tonks, because it really was damn unpleasant.

Auror Shacklebolt was courteous enough to ask Riko before making his Trainee take the trunk as they walked through some corridors and he didn’t object when Riko told him, as soon as they’d arrived at a bustling office, that she’d have to inform her solicitor of the situation. He didn’t even comment on her sending off her bird just minutes ago, clearly not caring much about his current orders. Riko understood this much better as soon as she was ushered into the stuffy cubicle-office of one Mr Robards. The man was weedy-looking, had a sour face, and was also very rude. Not just to her, but also to the two Aurors, telling them sharply to leave now and get on with it, whatever it was.

As she coolly looked him over, Riko had no trouble at all imagining him taking some money on the side, what with the massive, shiny pocket-watch dangling from his vest, which was made of very fine fabric, now that she looked at it. She didn’t need the cueroscope wriggling against her skin to tell his smile and friendly greeting were as false as a priests promises of a better afterlife as he asked her, first thing, for her parents whereabouts and health. With a inward sigh she informed him no, her parents weren’t in the vicinity, no, really, they weren’t, she was set to travel on to Japan, yes, Japan, this evening, by muggle plane, yes, muggle plane, and so on. Riko could tell he was becoming quickly frustrated, and so was she.

She thanked all the gods, silently, and her solicitor, audibly, when just a few minutes later Mrs. Cicero bustled into the office without even knocking. Her black hair was held up in a bun by two dark ornamental wood sticks, the tilak on her forehead proclaiming her status as a Kshatriya so fine it had to be charmed, and her robes so severe and dignified she seemed to come fresh from a court room, a pair of half-moon reading glasses already on her nose.

Mrs Cicero was an expert at looking down her nose with them, too, and in no time at all, Riko found herself extracted into what seemed to be a sort of break-room, while her solicitor was busy glaring daggers and arguing expertly against Mr Robards’ warbling. Clearly she already had some experience (obviously unpleasant), with the man. Riko wasn’t going to call him any honorific, much less Auror, seeing how he actually belonged to the MLEP. She slumped against her seat with a huff of frustration; so much for getting out fast. She was gloomily looking at the clock, watching yet another theoretical flight to Tokyo pass her by, when the door opened and Trainee Tonks entered. She almost tripped over it as she closed it and flashed an unflappable, friendly smile at Riko.

“Hullo, there. Just wanted to tellya yer trunk’s safe at Kingsley’s office. So, no need to worry. You doing alright? I could do with some tea, my shift’s still another hour, so if you like..”

Riko gave a distracted blink, then smiled carefully but gratefully. “Yeah, that’d be nice, ta.”

It seemed even the short silence after that was too much for Trainee Tonks as she puttered about, making two steaming mugs of tea and, after a moment of looking out the half-glass wall, furtively putting a handful of shortbread on a small plate.

“I’m dead sorry, really, usually we wouldn’t be caught dead harassing students like that, but I was still up for a spin on the MLEP side of the department and Robards filled me in, nothing to be done about it, ’s really a bother, I can tell you that, now I have to sit around for an entire hour just staring at the wall, see I’m only cleared to sort reports, haven’t finished the first stage trials yet, and they’re all out with their partners anyway and Kingsley’s gone home ’cause he started earlier today, again, and say, do you want milk? Or honey?”

The witch ambled over relaxedly, directing the dishes with her wand to land safely on the table and taking a seat that let her sit at a right angle to Riko while keeping the door in her field of vision. Without waiting for Riko’s reply she waved her wand again and a small pot of honey and a carton of milk zoomed over from the counter.

“Err, thanks,” Riko felt a little overwhelmed, but made use of both almost automatically.

The next few hours were at least entertaining, if somewhat bizarre. They made short work of the shortbread and, as they both had nothing to do but kill time, got to talking about near everything under the sun. Riko frequently had to remind herself that the friendly witch, whose overall manners resembled a lot Lea ’s, was set to be an Auror and thus potentially dangerous, but even so they got along fine. They’d started out on Hogwarts and what Riko thought of her first year, and what sorts of friends she’d made. Riko had been careful not to mention any names, which Tonks had obviously caught onto very fast, giving her a dry but twinkly smile.

But when they got to talking about the lessons and differences of the houses, some of the situations with the Duck Squad, and the whole prank war, the young witch was laughing in earnest, giving all sorts of great comments, and even made a few points and suggestions that Riko felt were too good to not use in the future. Riko kept looking at the clock occasionally, but it didn’t stop her from asking lots of questions about the Aurors and what did Tonks have to do and learn and for how long and so on.

She learned, among other things, that Tonks was set to have her first year trial, of which there were three, in just a weeks time, that every Trainee was assigned an Auror to teach them directly, that they still had all sorts of things to learn from books, just in their free time, and attend lots of training sessions, and still work the same hours as their Auror-mentor. It was damn impressive a workload and Riko wasn’t surprised in the slightest Tonks was from Hufflepuff (they had traded, although Tonks had laughed at the suggestion and claimed that just with that Riko had outed herself as Slytherin. Riko had replied that the friendly offer of tea and shortbread had made her a very likely Badger already).

When she voiced this view the witch laughed heartily and told her with a wink that traditionally about eighty percent of the Aurory were evenly divided between alumni of their two houses. Tonks’ hour had been up quite a while ago, but she’d just shrugged her shoulder when Riko mentioned it and brewed up fresh tea for them. From their room they could see Mrs Cicero still arguing with Mr Robards, the rest of the big office pretty much deserted.

“Great Hera, look at that sour newt, wouldn’t ’ve thought he had the energy..” Tonks remarked drily, but also with some trace of worry in her tone.

Riko knew, incidentally, what the witch meant. If she was held too long without anyone being able to reach a guardian for her she’d be in deep shit. Her time was running out. She turned her head back to the clock, then heard Tonks give a startled sound.

“Now what the..” Tonks huffed, “Look at that, what’s Lord Malfoy doing here?! And with that toady Thimblewick..”

Riko watched both men enter the separee of Mr Robards and the resulting flurry of arguments with some trepidation. Lord Malfoy clearly knew how to make an entrance and, though he did indeed look like a sort of dried-up, papery toad, Mr Thimblewick seemed to make quite an impression on Mr Robards. Probably he had some lawyer reputation. Mrs Cicero obviously caught right away this was the potential fall-back her patron had mentioned so vaguely and was soon nodding and presenting a united front with the two new-comers.

“Er, he’s my spellfather, Lord Malfoy,” Riko admitted with a sheepish smile to the young witch, blushing at the sharp glance she received at that admission.

Tonks leaned back in her chair so she could look at Riko better, while still keeping the proceedings in the office in her field of vision, her face rather more thoughtful than it had been and silent for a few tense, dragging moments. “Huh. Fall-back, hm, that it? Awful coincidence, what with the time and all...”

Riko just looked into her tea and pulled some hair behind her ear.

“Now, come here, give me a hint, ey? I’m off duty and it’s not even my department or business! I’m just curious! Humm, oh.. Oh!.. it was the bird, right? ‘and don’t forget to wait’ Hah! But how’d he know what it means?”

Riko saw Tonks’ eyes twinkling with the rush of matching clues and groaned softly, hiding her eyes with her hand.

“Alright, alright, you got the bird right,” she admitted with a smile, her face still very hot, adding with a small, embarrassed shrug, “She arrived with a letter. Korra’s real smart, and I’ve been raised kinda paranoid..”

Tonks looked at her sharply for a moment before snorting a short laugh, giving her a touché kind of look. “Huh, fair enough. Guess you’d better keep that up, then..”

The witch trailed off when they saw Malfoy leave the office and head straight for their room. His face was a mask of sharp edges, clearly he meant business. They both sat up a little straighter and Riko made sure she still looked vaguely presentable, ignoring Tonks laconic look and her murmured, incomprehensible “dee eech reef, dee geyster”.

The glass was not clear from the outside so she had a few seconds to compose herself. Riko was very glad of that when Lord Malfoys cutting gaze swept over the room, just moments later, dismissing Tonks and resting on her.

“Er, good evening, spellfather,” Riko rose, making sure her voice only carried gratitude and apology in even measure. “Sorry to disturb you..”

“Nonsense,” he spoke sharply, as she gave him a small bow. “If anything I should apologize for not thinking of some busybody actually trying this. The nerve..”

He sniffed imperiously and looked down his nose at Tonks as if this was somehow her fault. The young witch raised her eyebrows in surprise and Riko hastily cleared her throat.

“Ah, we just had some tea, waiting for either the legalese or her shift to finish. She’s still in training and didn’t have anything else interesting to do so I asked her some about it all,” Riko gave him a bright smile, then hurried to take her rucksack, turning to Tonks. “Do you think you can get my trunk out? I think the legalese is about done, now.”

They all watched Mrs Cicero and Mr Thimblewick leave the separee with their heads held high in triumph, Mr Robards leaning back in his chair in a gesture of defeat and massaging his eyes. Tonks gave Riko an impressive unperturbed grin and ambled easily ahead of the fair-headed, differently sized pair, looking utterly relaxed. Clearly she had guts, to be so unflappable, but then, she was learning to be an Auror. Riko wasn’t sure she could’ve been quite as boneless and at ease with an angry Lord Malfoy at her back, but she admitted she was currently very tired and she’d have to learn it anyway, so perhaps she should just treat the entire thing as a sort of exercise. Oddly enough, the thought helped, making her more relaxed and awake almost immediately.

“There ya go,” was Tonks cheery comment as she presented Riko back with her massive trunk. “I’ll go clean up, take a care then.”

She gave Riko a short wink and a very polite nod, but not a single word, to Lord Malfoy and the solicitors. Despite her flashy colouring she was being uncannily inconspicuous, and Riko was sure neither of the three would remember her in a weeks time.

This left, after a few moments of the solicitors very professionally taking their leave, Riko standing in an empty hall with a sharp-edged Lord Malfoy looking at her through a mask that showed an odd mix of exasperation and amusement. He took a piece of parchment half out of his breast-pocket, then slid it back, raising one pale eyebrow.

“Dear spellfather, I apologize for troubling you at so late an hour, but if you get to read this letter I’m in a bit of a bother..” he drawled, then shook his head giving a soft chuckle. “Well, it’s a good introduction, I’ll give you that. You do realize of course, I’m going to make the most of this. After all, being considered a last resort might actually hurt my feelings.. if I weren’t quite as familiar with the whole esprit of independence, that is.”

Riko had to fight the urge to hide her face in her hands with a groan at his sharp smile. That was one aspect she hadn’t even thought of, damn it all. She’d been so focussed on remaining free she’d completely overlooked the danger of offending the man. Riko could feel her face heating and cleared her throat, giving him an honestly embarrassed, sheepish smile.

“I just.. didn’t want to be an inconvenience..”

“Of course,” was Lord Malfoys dry reply and as he added “which is why I’m not offended,” the cueroscope didn’t wriggle, the humour in his expression turning from mask to reality.

Then it took a back seat to something like worry as he looked at her very closely before straightening again and snipping his fingers imperiously. In a small puff of smoke a house elf appeared, bowing silently.

“Elf, transport this luggage to the mansion, the rucksack too. And make sure an appropriate guest room is made ready for my spellchild.”

Before Riko could even look twice the elf had taken her massive, heavy trunk with just one hand and simply put its other on her rucksack. Then it vanished in a small puff of smoke, taking both along.

“Now, let’s see, where’s the closest Flooplace..? You look exhausted, almost ready to keel over, and here I heard you were recovered. The circumstances could of course be better, but at least I can now properly host you in the Manor..”

Riko gave tired, agreeable smile and followed him, occasionally interjecting short, congenial comments. If this was the price to remaining free, she better deal with it well now. At least he’d said guest room, which was both safe and ought to include a bed..


End file.
